All Is Fair In Love and War
by SladinForever
Summary: DISCONTINUED, SORRY! -Alternate Universe- Robin, a young, teenage prostitute, befriends the famous Slade Wilson of Gotham City in a very strange circumstance. Could there possibly be love in their future? DISCONTINUED, SORRY!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: If I owned Teen Titans, DC Comics would crucify me and then stone me to death. So I don't own

**Summary:** —Alternate Universe— Robin, a young, teenage prostitute, befriends the famous Slade Wilson of Gotham City in a very strange circumstance. Could there possibly be love in their future?

So blame Wynja for this story XD One of her drabbles was of prostitution where Slade is paying Robin to have sex with him. So I came up with this fluff story for Sladin. Other characters will be in it too—Brother Blood, Terra, and a bunch of Titan villains that aren't villains; confusing ain't it?—I rarely write stories like this—the other one being The Real How Long is Forever? story. Writing angst and Slade being an evil dickhead is what I prefer but every once in a while I have to make it where he's a wonderful, nice guy ;] The other Titans won't be in it for a while—there'll be more to this story than you think; maybe I should hush so I don't leave you too in suspense XD— This is also an AU—Alternate Universe—story, so I hope you'll like it at least a lil bit ;] So enjoy!

**SladinForever**

* * *

When he was only eight, a tragedy happened. They had died right before his eyes as they hit the floor. He had no one else to go to. So he ran, ran away from that dreaded place. For a year he was on the streets, unable to find a home or good shelter. Rarely did he find a homeless shelter in the destroyed city of Gotham. They could never get good funding, leaving many people out on the streets, alone and possibly dying. When he was nine, he discovered one thing that could give him money to survive in the treacherous world.

The first four to five times were painful, but worth it. He wasn't sure how much cash he was earning. School wasn't in his schedule much before his parents died. He had some trouble with basic math and couldn't read well. After hearing people speak certain words, he knew what kind of food to order at a McDonalds or a Burger King, what was safe to drink, and how to get somewhere. He could speak just fine but reading wasn't his strong point. In fact, he couldn't read very well at all. But that was okay; he could do a lot of other, more important things just fine.

His world was pretty much the same for a while: eat, sleep, work, eat, and sleep some more. But soon his world, and his way of life, was about to change…

**Six and a Half Years Later…**

_"It's a gloomy day in Gotham City today. Winter is just around the corner! I hope all of you will be safe and warm the rest of the year as the temperatures start to drop to the mid-to-late fifties—"_

A fifteen-year-old boy with black hair and dark blue eyes was walking down the sidewalk on the left side of the street instead of the right. The streets were deserted but the curbs had cars parked on both sides. It was the middle of the afternoon and warm. It was fairly cloudy but dry. Smoke was rising from the manholes and asphalt. The blue of the sky was barely peeking through the heavy cloud cover. In just a few hours it would be dark and cold. Luckily, the teen had layers of clothing on. He wore a few T-shirts, thick, baggy blue jeans, and slightly holed shoes with thick wool socks. The bottoms of the leggings covered most of the shoe where only the toes to halfway up were visible. His hands were stuffed in his jean pockets. The teen was alone for a few more minutes on that lonely stretch of sidewalk before a limping, drunk-looking man wearing shabby clothes approached him on the same sidewalk, a hand rubbing angrily at his eyes. The boy expected him to keep on walking but as he started to move diagonally, he knew this wasn't the case. The boy was walking in a slight limp. He still needed a few days off from his last job. The man stopped him by a long, black car.

"Well aren't you a pretty little boy," the man said with a hiccup. The boy stared at the man with sullen, tired eyes. "How much to do you, huh?"

The teen softly glared at the man. "I'm not serving anyone today, especially not from a guy like you. Now get out of my way."

The boy tried to pass the man, but he grabbed his shoulder and shoved him against the car. He chuckled drunkenly.

"Oh come on. Prostitutes don't take days off. Now how much?"

The boy growled lightly. "Get your hand off me."

"Just let me fucking pay ya, you brat."

"Go fuck a porcupine, asshole!"

The boy tried to push the man away but he was just too strong, especially since he was angry now. They hardly noticed the door behind the man swing open. A leg clad in a black business shoe and business pants came out of the interior.

"Just let me bury my cock inside of you for _one_ minute and then I'll-"

A strong hand landed on the man's shoulder, making him stop in surprise. The teen looked up to see a six-foot man with unruly, white hair and one blind, steel blue eye standing behind him. He was dressed in a black business suit and loose tie. The teen swallowed, surprised to actually meet a man like this: muscular, tall, and handsome despite the hair and scar over the ruined eye. And then his voice as he spoke made the boy want to melt like butter on a hot summer day.

"It is obvious you are too stupid to know the phrase "can deny any customer service"." He pushed the man away with his hand before turning to him. "Get out of my sight." Snorting, the man turned and ran down the sidewalk. The man from the car—or more commonly called a limo—stared after him a few seconds before turning his strong gaze on the teen. The boy quickly looked away, not knowing if he was going to take him to the police; he wasn't aware of any non-prostitution law in the city. After a few seconds of observation, the man said, "Get in the car."

The teen whipped his head around to look at him. He looked between the opened door and the man a few times before nodding and walking past him. After getting in the wide back seat of the limo, the man followed suit, shutting the door behind him as he sat across from him. They were silent for a few seconds.

"Um…thank you for helping me," the boy said nervously, not looking at the man. A small tinted window behind the teen's head suddenly opened, revealing the driver behind it. He also had white hair and spoke with an old, British accent.

"Where to now sir?"

"945766 Harbor Street, Wintergreen," the man said.

"Right away, Mr. Wilson."

The window rolled back up. The teen jumped slightly when the limo started and began pulling out of its parking space. Looking out the window, he watched as the buildings and cars zoomed on by.

"What's your name, boy?"

The teen quickly looked at the man. "R-Richard."

"And how old are you, Richard?"

"Fifteen."

Richard stiffened when the man moved. Gripping a handle, he pulled on it to reveal a mini-fridge built into the car.

"Would you like a soda?" he asked, looking at his tiny selection.

Richard relaxed and then said, "Yes, please."

"Coke, grape, or orange?"

Richard blinked a few times. Was this man for real? "Grape, please."

Wilson pulled out a can of grape soda and then closed the door as he handed the can to him. Richard graciously took it and popped the tab. Opening the can, he put the aluminum to his lips and then tilted it back to take a gulp. The man sat back, folding his arms over his chest.

"How long have you been a prostitute, Richard?"

Richard almost choked on his next gulp. He cleared his throat before answering the sudden question. "S-Since I was nine," he said, becoming worried again. His hands gripped the can tightly. "Are you taking me to the police?"

Wilson shook his head. "No, I am taking you home with me. My name is Slade Wilson. You look like you could use some reprieve." The limo soon pulled up to a skyscraper apartment building. "Let's go."

Slade opened the door and began to step out. Richard followed after him, practically hitting his head on the low ceiling. He smoothed his hair down as he stood up straight.

"I appreciate the help and the soda," Richard said, "but I'll be fine."

Richard's stomach suddenly growled angrily. He looked down at it with wide eyes. Slade snorted.

"I beg to differ."

The driver door opened. Wintergreen looked over the top of the limo. "Sir, what is the agenda for tonight?"

Slade and Richard both turned to his driver.

"Go get some dinner Wintergreen," Slade said. "I need to be picked up two and a half hours from now. Then you can have the rest of the night off. I'll just get a taxi."

"Yes, Mr. Wilson. I will return shortly."

"See you then, my friend," Slade said. Wintergreen got back in the limo and then drove away. "Richard." Richard looked over at him. "Come inside."

Turning around, Slade headed for the large, glass doors into the building. Richard followed him, not realizing where they were actually going. His eyes widened the closer they got to the skyscraper. He craned his head up to see just how high it went. Getting slightly dizzy, he looked back down and followed behind Slade.

"Evenin' Mr. Wilson," the skinny hotel greeter said as they approached. "Who's the lil ducky?"

"This is Richard, Maddy," Slade said as they stopped. "He'll be staying with me for a few days."

"Well have a great stay then."

Richard nodded and followed closely behind Slade, thinking Maddy was some kind of crazy man from Britain that would snatch him up. Kidnapping was not his thing. They entered the large lobby, heading for a few elevators. Slade pushed the up button. After a few seconds the door slowly slid open. Slade stepped in. After a few seconds hesitation, Richard walked in and turned around to stand beside him. He sipped his soda as Slade pushed the sixtieth floor button. It lit up and then jerked to life. The elevator was silent the entire ride up to floor sixty. The door opened and Slade walked out. Richard followed him. For a minute they walked down the hallway to door five hundred and fifty-seven. Wilson pulled out a key and inserted it into the lock. They walked in, the boy stopping and almost dropping his can as he saw the inside of the large room.

The second he walked in, the living room with its wood floors was the first thing he saw. There was a giant flat screen TV on the wall opposite a brown, pull-out bed couch, which had a glass coffee table in front of it. The table could go into a floor board with just the push of a button. From there, was a large, visible kitchen and dining room. The dining room had a small brown table with two chairs. There was a large stove and oven with white marble counters. A tall, steel refrigerator sat across from the sink. The floor was made of shiny linoleum and large windows covered most of the walls. To the left was a hallway that led into the single, large bedroom.

Slade walked over to the fridge and pulled it open to look at its contents. Richard came out of his shocked state when he asked, "What do you usually eat, Richard?"

Richard blinked a few times before shaking his head. "Erm…pizza or a cheeseburger whenever I can. I don't always eat during the day; trying to save most of my earnings." Richard walked farther in, looking around. "You really live here?"

Slade pulled out a Tupperware container from the bottom shelf. Turning to the long island in the middle of the kitchen, he set it down and took off the lid.

"I own this skyscraper actually," he said, going to one of the cupboards. Taking down a plate, he closed the door and returned to the Tupperware. He dumped mashed potatoes and half a piece of steak on the plate. "I own about half of this city's businesses actually. Please sit." Nodding, Richard went to the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down. He placed his can down while still holding it. "Being a lawmaker, I allowed your line of work to happen here. Though now I'm thinking of adding in an age limit."

Richard scratched his left temple gently with his pointer finger. Slade heated up the leftovers in the microwave. After grabbing a fork half a minute later, the timer went off. He grabbed the plate after opening the door and then went over to Richard's side. After setting the plate in front of him, Slade grabbed a napkin and set it next to him. Richard picked up his fork and began scarfing down his mashed potatoes. Slade set the empty Tupperware in the sink and then ran hot water through it. Richard stabbed the steak with his fork and then lifted the entire thing to his mouth. Placing the end in the right side of his mouth, he dug his canines into the tough meat and began to grind and pull. Pulling a chunk off, he sucked it into his mouth and began to chew.

"This is really good," he said with his eyes closed. "What is it?"

Slade turned his gaze on him. "You have never had steak before?" he asked, going back to the fridge.

"Nope."

Slade pulled out a bottle of coke and yanked off the top. The fizzing sound leaked out before he put it to his lips and took a gulp. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Prostitutes hardly eat anything fancy."

"Well duh," Richard said before taking another bite.

"Where are your parents anyway?" Slade asked, sitting in the other chair.

Richard swallowed his bite, suddenly not feeling so hungry anymore. He set his fork down. "They're dead," he said quietly. Picking up his can, Richard finished his grape soda. "Been gone ever since I was eight."

The room became quiet. Richard stared down at his hands in his lap.

"Do you have any other family?" Slade asked a minute later. Richard shook his head. "How did you discover prostitution?"

Richard looked up at him with slightly wide eyes, not expecting this question. No one had ever asked him that in the past. "After being on the streets for a little over a year, some recently divorced man found me and said he would pay me if I did something with him. I had been stealing for a long time and decided that money was money, so I let the man take me to a deserted hotel room to show me what he wanted. After he explained what a prostitute was, I decided that it was the job for me. The first few times were painful, but I got used to it pretty fast. Been having sex with men ever since."

"Only men?"

"Yeah. I guess they find me attractive or something."

"Yes, I suppose it's your eyes," Slade said. "They're a rare shade of blue."

Richard smiled softly. "Well, so is yours."

Slade snorted quietly before standing up and taking his empty can and plate. After throwing the last few bites away, he washed the dishes and then dried them to put them away. He then returned to Richard's side.

"Your hair is very oily. Would you like a bath?"

Richard's face seemed to light up. "Oh, yes, please."

"Come with me then."

Richard got up and followed Slade towards the bedroom. The floor was covered in soft, black carpet. A king-sized bed with a black cover sat in the middle of the room against the back wall. To the right was a bathroom and four large windows that looked out at the city. On the left was a closet and dresser. Slade entered the bathroom, turned on the heat light, and then went to the tub to turn on the water. Richard glanced around the room, liking the place a lot. It had a nice, warm, cozy feel to it somehow. Once the tub was filled with steaming hot water, Slade walked over to his closet and opened the door. He took out a fluffy black towel and then handed it to Richard. He then explained where everything was and then left him to it.

Closing the door behind him, Richard set the towel on the sink counter before beginning to remove his three T-shirts. He threw them to the floor, revealing a pale chest and stomach underneath. He was almost nothing but skin and bones. His body was very thin for his age. Once fully nude, Richard slowly stepped in the tub and then lowered his body down. The water went up to his ribcage as he sat up straight. A loud, content sigh escaped him when he felt the soothing heat warm his body. Leaning back, he bathed in the heat, feeling better and better every second.

After taking an hour long bath, Richard used the bathroom and then began drying his hair. He wrapped the towel around his head a few seconds later, throwing the twisted part above his head. He grabbed his underwear and slipped them back on. Grabbing his shirts and jeans, he left the bathroom. Richard sat on the edge of the bed, setting his stuff beside him. Slade came in a few seconds later as he was trying to slip one of his shirts over the towel. Shaking his head, Slade took the shirt away forcefully, making Richard jump slightly. His savior was very silent.

"It will be a bit big on your tiny frame, but it will be clean," Slade said as he walked to his dresser and rummaged through it. He pulled out a large, dark blue shirt with the word ARMY on the back. He gave it to Richard. "Once you're dressed, you can watch TV or take a nap on the couch." Taking the towel off his head, Richard pulled the baggy shirt over his head. It slid down his slender frame, reaching halfway to his knees. "I have to leave soon for my dinner appointment. I want to make sure you're comfortable before I am gone."

Richard stood up. "Yes sir."

"And don't call me that," Slade said, taking his dirty clothes and towel. He headed out of the room, Richard following behind him. "I will wash your clothes while I'm gone." Reaching the table, Slade picked up the remote and handed it to Richard. He explained what the buttons were for. Once he got the hang of it, Slade sat him down on the couch. "Go to channels 234, 235, 236, and 237 for cartoons."

"Okay."

After making sure he was doing things right, Slade walked off to start the laundry. He soon had to leave. Richard was watching Spongebob Squarepants.

"You might be asleep when I return," Slade said, gripping the door handle. Richard looked over at him. "I will go out and find you if you decide to run off."

Richard smiled. "I don't plan on going anywhere. Thank you."

"Good night then."

Slade left, locking the door behind him. Richard turned back to the TV and decided to check the guide for something better than cartoons. He settled for a good marathon of COPS. After a few minutes of watching car chases, his eyes began to droop. His head jerked forward a few times. Getting a small headache from this, Richard fell over sideways, placing his head on the arm rest. Ten minutes later and he was fast asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

It was ten o'clock in the evening when Slade returned from his business dinner. He carefully opened the door to make as little noise as possible. Stepping in, he slowly closed the door and locked it with the deadbolt. A yawn escaped him as he moved towards the kitchen. He placed his key on the counter before going to the refrigerator. Opening it, he reached in for a bottle of water. Slade closed the door, unscrewed the cap, and took a gulp. He then looked towards the couch, where Richard was sound asleep. He was on his right side, his back facing the TV, which was still playing COPS.

Sighing, Slade walked over to the coffee table and picked up the remote to turn off the TV. The screen turned black. He turned to Richard as he took a few slow gulps of water. His hand slowly lowered once he noticed him shaking slightly. Wiping his moist lips with the back of his hand, Slade set the bottle on the coffee table along with the remote. He stepped up behind him, bent down, and pushed his arms under his back and legs. He picked Richard up, got a good grip on him, and then headed for his bedroom. After pulling the cover back with his right hand, Slade set him down with his head on the two pillows. He pushed hair off his forehead before pulling the warm comforter over his body.

Once Richard was snug and warm, Slade went to the other side, grabbed one of the other pillows, and then went back into the living room. He set the pillow on the armrest of the couch. Before going to bed, he brushed his teeth and took care of the wet laundry. He put it in the drier for half an hour and waited for it to finish. After folding the shirts and putting them on his bedroom dresser, Slade looked back at Richard. The cover covering his shoulder moved up and down as he breathed.

"Good night, Richard," he spoke quietly.

Closing the door carefully behind him, Slade went back to the couch and sat down, loosening his tie. He unbuttoned the top two buttons on his white-collared shirt and then took off his black business jacket. After unbuttoning the cuffs, Slade got comfortable on the couch and closed his eyes. He stuffed his hand under his pillow while the other fluffed it up. Within minutes he was asleep.

The next morning, Richard's eyes fluttered open. He quickly bolted up and looked around quickly, forgetting where he was. This happened a lot and he was usually always alone, like he was now. Yesterday soon came back to him and he remembered how generous and nice Slade Wilson had been to him. Richard stretched and yawned, the wide sleeves falling off his shoulders. He ran his hand though his limp hair as he looked around. Spotting his folded clothes on the dresser, he quietly got up and went over to it. He dressed in all three shirts quietly and pulled up his jeans, one legging at a time. After putting his belt back on, he practically tip-toed to the door and slowly opened it, looking out for any sign of Slade. When he saw bits of his white hair sticking out from the armrest, Richard silently walked out of the bedroom and headed for the front door. He pulled the deadbolt silently back and then gripped the handle. He turned it slowly and heard the faint click from the mechanism.

Richard was about to walk out and leave when a voice said, "Richard, get back in here."

Richard froze. Slowly looking over his shoulder, he saw Slade with his eyes still closed. He gulped before pushing on the door. It closed with a soft click.

"I just wanted to get some fresh air."

Slade opened his good eye to look at him. "I know what you were trying to do," he said while slowly sitting up. He got up and went towards the kitchen. "If you plan on going anywhere, I will be going with you. Now, what do you want for breakfast?"

Richard blinked. "I always eat breakfast at Burger King."

Slade searched his cupboards. "That processed food isn't good for you. You need _real_ food." Slade opened the fridge and searched the drawers. He took out the carton of eggs and a package of bacon. "Now lock the door back up and come sit." Nodding somewhat reluctantly, Richard put on the deadbolt, went to the table, and then sat down. Going to the stove, Slade turned on one of the burners and began making scrambled eggs. It took almost twenty minutes to make him a hearty breakfast. Slade placed all the eggs and a few strips of bacon on a plate, giving it to him. "Eggs, bacon, and toast," he said, pointing to each one. "Do you drink orange juice?"

"Sometimes," Richard said, picking up his fork to start eating his eggs. Going to the fridge, Slade pulled out a carton of orange juice and then went to a cupboard to pour him a glass. He set it down before putting the carton back in the refrigerator. "Thanks."

Slade made an omelet with red and green bell peppers and cheese for himself, taking the last few slices of bacon. He sat down across from Richard and began to eat. They ate in silence, the sound of forks hitting the plates resounding around them. Richard soon finished, drinking his glass of orange juice to wash it all down. The sun was now shining in faintly, the cloud cover blocking most of the rays. Once Slade was done, he washed the dishes and put them away after drying them. He turned back to Richard.

"What happened to your leg?" When Richard gave him a confused look, he added, "You were limping. What happened to it?"

Richard blushed lightly. He hardly talked to his customers, so talking to a man who owned a lot of Gotham was a little embarrassing.

"It's not my leg, but rather my butt. That's why I'm taking the rest of the week off from my job."

Slade was silent momentarily. "When was the last time you went to the doctor?"

"I don't know."

"You do know there are certain diseases only administered through sex, don't you?" Slade asked. Richard shook his head. "Before I let you go back out on the street, you are going to be tested. Since it's the weekend I can't get you in until Monday or Tuesday. So until then, while you're here, what would you like to do?"

Richard shrugged. "I don't know."

Slade pushed away from the sink. He walked past Richard, who got up and pushed his chair in.

"If you want, you can watch COPS again," he said as he sat down on the couch.

Richard sat down on the other side closest to the pillow. He lay on his side as Slade grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. The introduction for COPS was just ending. The show started, showing a dark night. A black twenty-two-year-old was running through people's backyards to escape the cops chasing after him. They easily cornered him and tackled him to the ground. After a while, Slade glanced at Richard out of the corner of his eye. He was watching the set intently, his hands tucked under his temple. Slade's mind decided to be cruel to him. He blinked.

The next thing Slade saw was Richard shirtless and revealing his skinny frame. There were a few brown marks on his collarbone and shoulder. His eyes were filled with ecstasy. When Slade blinked again, Richard was staring directly at him. He quickly got up and walked around the couch, heading for his room.

"I'll be in the shower."

Richard looked back at the TV, saying, "Okay."

Slade shut his door behind him. Richard picked up the remote and began flipping through channels. The shower turned on when he stopped to watch NCIS. He was becoming tired fast. He suddenly had to pee. Getting up, he went into the kitchen and saw how tall the sink was compared to him. Shaking his head to get the idea of doing it in the sink out of his head, Richard searched for a plant. With that option unavailable, he carefully entered Slade's room. The shower was still running as he knocked on the bathroom door. Slade didn't reply. Swallowing hard, Richard carefully opened the door and slipped in. Steam rose from the top of the shower doors and was covering the mirrors. Richard lifted the toilet lid and then unzipped his jeans. He closed his eyes as his bladder was relieved of its contents. Before he could be stopped, he flushed the toilet. There was silence and then-

"Richard!"

Jumping in fright, Richard didn't bother zipping his jeans as he ran from the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. He ran out of the bedroom and quickly sat down on the couch, sliding down to hide himself. A few minutes later, the water turned off. Another few minutes later, his eyes widened when the bedroom door opened. He heard Slade stop behind the couch, placing his hands on the back of it. Richard swallowed hard.

"I…I didn't know…"

Slade was quiet for a few seconds. He was right of course. "Zip your pants."

Richard blushed a deep shade of red. He quickly zipped his jeans before pulling his knees up to his chest. Slade shook his head in amusement before going back into his room to get dressed in civilian clothes. Richard relaxed a bit and resumed his TV watching without feeling worried. After a few hours, watching TV was getting boring. Slade hadn't come out of his room the entire time, which got him wondering; what was he even _doing_? He chuckled to himself.

_'__Maybe he's having dirty thoughts. A lot of men do.'_

Richard yawned. Picking up the remote, he turned off the TV and then curled up against the pillow.

"I'm going to take a nap!"

Inside the bedroom, Slade rolled his eyes. "No need to tell me."

Slade was doing tedious paper work for his many businesses. He was trying to keep his mind off Richard. He was well respected in Gotham and if word got out he was sheltering a young _male_ prostitute, results could be bad. One, prostitution was frowned upon in most states; two, it was pedophilia seeing as Richard wasn't even eighteen; and three, HIV and AIDS was one of the leading diseases that caused death in the world. If Richard had any kind of STD, it could spread to any of his previous costumers. Slade hoped he could survive with the brat until Monday.

Around one, Slade finished paying a few bills that he had put off for two weeks. Setting the checks and papers in his desk drawer, he got up and headed out to make lunch. Richard was watching Princess Bride on the TV. Slade made a turkey sandwich for him and a ham for himself. He placed Kraft Singles cheese slices sliced in half by the corners on the bottom bread slice, then the meats, and lastly the condiments—Ketchup, mayo, and mustard.

"_But, Wesley…what about the ROUS's?"_

"_Rodents of Unusual Size?" Wesley asked, shaking his head. "I don't believe they exist."_

Richard laughed softly when a giant rat attacked Wesley.

"Here." Richard looked over and saw his lunch in front of him. "It's a turkey sandwich," Slade said.

Richard took the plate. "Thanks," he said, placing it on his lap. Slade walked past him to sit down. They ate as they both watched the movie. "So what were you doing in your room?"

Slade swallowed his bite of sandwich pretty much the wrong way. "Paying bills and going over paperwork," he said once he got his voice back.

"Oh, okay."

Slade glared at Richard slightly, noting his tone of voice. "I know what you're insinuating you little brat."

Whipping his head around, Richard glared at him. "Oh, so I'm a brat now? What happened to the man that was nice to me and saved my ass!"

"He left when you lost your manners."

"At least I have them, you dirty old man!" Not liking the "old man" comment, Slade threw his plate on the table and then got up. Richard cowered back, thinking he would hit him. Slade grabbed his arm tightly, yanking him to his feet. Richard dropped his plate, the sandwich falling to the floor. "You're hurting me!"

Slade pulled him towards his bedroom. After opening the door, he shoved Richard inside, making him stumble. "You're not allowed to come out for the rest of the day. You better be ready to apologize for your bad attitude tomorrow." Richard turned around right when he slammed the door shut and locked it. "And I'm _not_ old!" Slade turned on his heel and walked back to the couch. He plopped down, folding his arms over his chest and glaring. "Stupid brat…"

Meanwhile, Richard was pacing around the room, trying to calm himself down. He was more angry at himself than Slade. Every bad thing that ever happened was always his fault. His parents dying was his fault. If he had just told them sooner-

Richard wiped furiously at his eyes as tears started to fall. He kicked the corner of the bed as he headed for the bathroom. He slammed the door shut behind him.

* * *

Slade wasn't kidding when he told Richard he had to stay in the bedroom the rest of the day and all through the night. Though he did feel kind of bad hours later for hurting his arm. He had overreacted a bit too much, he hated to admit. Slade was willing to apologize as well for his forcefulness. Standing in front of the door on his left side, he gently knocked after unlocking it.

"Richard?" There was no reply. "Richard, are you ready to apologize?" Again there was no reply. Sighing, Slade gripped the handle and turned it. He stepped inside, closing the door gently behind him. Richard was lying in bed against the headboard, staring off into space. Slade stopped at the foot of the bed. He was waiting for some kind of movement. When none came, he asked, "Are you ready to apologize for being rude to me, Richard? Once you do, I will apologize for hurting your arm."

Richard didn't move for almost a minute. He slowly turned his gaze on Slade, piercing into him. His heart skipped a beat.

"I'm sorry for what I called you," he said solemnly. "I don't listen to how I say things most of the time and I'm sorry for that."

An awkward silence filled the room just then. Slade swallowed as Richard continued to stare at him with that sad look on his face. As though his feet had a mind of their own, he approached his side. Richard followed him with his gaze. He looked up at Slade when he stopped beside him. They stared at each other for a long time again, neither moving. Richard fidgeted slightly because of Slade's height.

Unable to help himself, Slade placed his hand on his cheek, feeling how soft his skin felt against his much rougher kind. He leaned close to Richard's face. His eyes were somewhat wide as they still stared at each other. His heart skipped a few beats when he lightly kissed him on the lips. Slade seemed to hesitate, trying to figure out why he was doing this to this young boy. There was something about his lips that made him kiss him again. Soon he was a little more forceful, making Richard close his eyes and part his lips. Slade's knee moved over his legs to get on the bed. His tongue slipped into his mouth, the tip brushing against the roof of his mouth. He then found his tongue and began to massage it. Richard opened his mouth wider and flicked his tongue to meet Slade's. His breath skipped when he began to lose air.

Slade now had a grip on Richard's neck with both hands. He was trying to push him down onto his back so that he could straddle him. Catching the hint, Richard slid his body down, wrapping his arms around his neck. Slade was on his knees as he hovered over him, still kissing his soft, pink lips. Richard breathed hard through his nose. With both needing to breathe, Slade stopped. He grabbed the back of his T-shirt and pulled it up over his head. He tossed it to the floor, revealing a strong, muscled chest with a scar or two on his arms and shoulders. Richard traced one on his right side with a slight frown on his face.

"How did that happen?"

"Someone didn't agree with me," Slade said, working on his belt. "They tried to kill me, but failed."

Richard watched as Slade tossed his belt to the floor and then began working on his zipper.

"So you are a pervy old man," he said suddenly.

"I'm thirty-seven," Slade said. "I'm not old just yet."

Richard wasn't exactly sure how old thirty-seven was, but if Slade said it wasn't old, then he agreed. Besides, he assumed sixty was a high number, which was the oldest man he had ever done business with. Slade didn't seem old anyway despite the white hair. His skin was smooth without a wrinkle in sight. Well, except for the scars, but those didn't count in Richard's eyes. He didn't think they made him ugly. No, not by a long shot. In fact, Slade seemed sexier with them.

"Is sixty old?" Richard asked, wanting to know.

Slade was unbuckling his belt, but paused because he had asked such a simple question that all children his age should've been able to answer. He stared at his face in slight confusion.

"Yes, that would be considered old."

Quickly deciding that Richard's smarts were unimportant right now, Slade pulled the strap from the buckle free and then worked on his zipper. Richard watched him intently, noting Slade's careful precision as he worked on getting his clothes off. Every customer he ever had just wanted to get on with it, quick and simple, not wanting to waste any time. Slade was…different. Richard mentally smiled.

_'__Different is good.' _

Slade lifted Richard's shirt up towards his head, stopping the instant he saw purple marks around his mid-section. There were also a few bite marks on his hip area.

"These are recent," he said, as though it wasn't bothering him—it was.

Richard sat up to pull his T-shirt off his head. He tossed it aside before laying back again. "Yeah, the last guy was drunk. I fought against him when I realized how dangerous he was and he stepped on me a few times after he was done. I bruise easily so that's why they're so dark. They only hurt if they're pressed."

"I will definitely add an age limit now," Slade muttered.

Richard blinked. "Then why are you doing this?"

Slade only shrugged and then carefully pulled his jeans and underwear off his waist. Richard bucked his hips up so they slid free from his butt, which also had some bruising. His fairly small penis for his age came free, bouncing a few times. Slade soon pulled them off his legs and set them aside. With him completely nude, he examined his body, which was too pale and covered in a few small scars, bruises, and hickeys for his liking.

"You are definitely going to the doctor on Monday. With your height and age, you're too skinny." He touched his ribcage, making Richard look down. "See how they stick out?" Richard nodded. "That is dangerous. Your immune system must be very poor."

Richard looked back up at him. "My…immune system?" he asked, never hearing that word before in his life.

Slade shook his head and said, "Never mind. In short, you're unhealthy. This is not how a boy should live."

"Well let's worry about that _after_ we fuck," Richard said. He gripped his jeans. "Can you take these off now?"

Slade snorted as he grabbed his wrists and held them down on the bed, his arms by his sides. "Fine, but I won't tolerate swearing."

Grinning, Richard said, "I don't know what _tolerate _means, but okay." Shaking his head, Slade gripped the hem of his jeans and boxers and pulled them down. Richard's eyes widened once he saw how big he was. "Wow, I am _definitely _writing this in my record book."

"Oh hush."

"The bigger the better I always say," Richard said. Slade threw his jeans to the floor. As he was on his knees, he lifted his leg and was about to carefully force his swelling cock into him when he remembered something. Richard tilted his head at the hesitation. "What?"

Slade frowned. "Do you remember those sexual diseases I mentioned?"

"Yeah."

"Well, if you have them, they can be transmitted to me. I won't risk getting them, so, unless you have a condom, we can't do this. And I don't think you even know what that is."

Richard blinked a few times, feeling slightly disappointed at hearing this. A light bulb suddenly flicked on in his mind. Reaching over for his jeans, Richard grabbed a loop and pulled them towards him. He stuffed his hand in one of the pockets and then pulled out a small, square package.

"Some guy from a few weeks ago gave it to me." He tried to read the writing on the package. "Erm, T-Tro- Tro-something."

Slade blinked as he tried to pronounce the words. Snatching the package from his hand, he read it out loud. "Trojan-ENZ, lubricated. Not exactly a miracle, but close enough."

"That things a condom?" Richard asked, thinking the edges and corners were too sharp to put into him.

Slade snorted. "It's what's inside." He gripped the top of the package and pulled it towards him. It came free. Reaching in, he pulled out a latex ring, then threw the plastic to the floor. Slade shook the condom a few times, the end falling out. "_This_ is a condom. It protects you from sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy between a man and a woman." Slade slipped it on. Richard had to remember this information in the future. "Ready?"

Richard grinned and exposed his butt. "Always." Shaking his head, Slade pulled his ass cheeks apart, exposing his slightly red hole. He began to push in, the tip extending out of the head. Richard hissed when the much wider length slipped in. "S-Slow down. It…I-It hurts…"

"Alright, just calm down," Slade said. He slowly inched his way in, taking almost thirty seconds to reach the hilt. Leaning over, he straightened his legs out. His arms were set by Richard's sides, his elbows bent. "_Now_ are you ready?"

Richard was already breathing hard, not once feeling this wonderful with anyone else. Gritting his teeth, he nodded. Thinking, _finally_, Slade used his toes to move his body back and forth, grinding into the boy beneath him with precise thrusts. Richard hissed a few times as his thickness rubbed against his fairly raw skin. Soon, however, as his prostate was hit, a moan escaped him. He was gripping his shoulders with his mouth open, moans filling the room. Slade leaned down a few more inches. Moving his right arm over his shoulder, Richard dug his nails into his muscled back while his left arm wrapped around his shoulders. His head rested against Slade's own.

"Ah! Ahh! Oh God, Slade; h-harder…!" Richard's face was flushed red as his blood continued to boil from the intense pleasure filling him. Slade was even obliging to his request, making him writhe and cry beneath his larger frame. If Slade had all of his weight on him, he would be crushed. "Ah, _yessss_! Nah, ah, ah! Slade!" Richard let out a loud, satisfied cry when he came. He was a little disappointed from the lack of feeling as the hot streams filled the condom, but that was alright. He wrapped his arms tighter around him, panting with his eyes closed. Slade breathed hot air on his neck. Richard groaned contentedly when he kissed it passionately. "Mmm…Slade I…I n-need to-need to do what y-you j-just did…"

Ending the kiss, Slade asked, "Cum, you m-mean?"

"Y-Yeah, that." Moving his hand underneath him, Slade gripped Richard's erection and began to stroke it, making him even harder. The tip faced his stomach, pre-cum dripping into his navel. It fell over the edge after it was completely filled. Richard began moaning all over again as he felt himself coming closer to the end. "Oh, Jesus…"

Richard let out a cry that almost shook the windows when he came all over his and Slade's stomach and chest. He finally fell back from exhaustion, breathing fast and hard. His arms fell, his hands by his head. Sitting up somewhat straight, Slade stared at his face, breathing deeply with his nose. Once his mind was back to normal, he thought back to his age question. There was only one idea going through his head that he needed to address.

"Richard?"

Richard breathed in deeply before opening his eyes and looking at Slade. "Y-Yeah?"

"Do you know how to count?"

Richard blinked. No one had ever asked him something as strange as that. No one ever asked him anything _period_. "Sort of. I don't really know how to read either. Or write for that matter." He paused. "Why?"

Slade leaned back, sitting on his knees. Richard pushed his elbows down into the mattress and sat up. They stared at each other in silence for a while. Almost a minute later, a phone rang. It rang three times before Slade got up and walked into his bathroom. He picked up a cell phone and flipped the lid.

Placing it to his ear, he asked, "Yes?" There was talking on the other end. "A lunch meeting at one? …Alright, I'll be there soon then."

Slade pulled the phone away from his ear and then closed the lid. He walked out, tossing it onto the bed near Richard, who was now sitting.

"Who was that?"

Slade went to his dresser to pick out clean clothes. "I have a lunch meeting for one of the big banks here in Gotham," he explained, pulling out boxers and black dress pants. Slade, then, went to his closet and pulled out a white collared shirt and a black business jacket. "I need to leave after my shower." He turned to Richard. "Then, when I return around three, you and I will have a little talk."

"Okay."

Nodding, Slade went into his bathroom, showered quickly, and then got ready for lunch. He called Wintergreen to inform him of the meeting. It was ten minutes until one o'clock when he arrived. Slade was quickly showing Richard where everything was.

"When you're hungry, you can make something. You can either nap or watch TV."

Richard nodded. "Yes Slade," he said politely. "Before you go, could you pay me?"

Slade did a double take. "Pay you?" Richard didn't respond. "Pay you for what?"

"For the sex," Richard said. "I'm a prostitute. Or did you forget?"

Slade blinked. Clearing his throat, he pulled out his wallet and asked, "How much?"

"Fifty for the sex and five for the hand job," Richard replied. "I don't know how much that is; can't count or add that high."

Slade shook his head to get his next thought out of his head. He pulled out a few bills and handed them over. Richard thanked him and then put his money in his jean pocket.

"We will talk more about this later."

Before Richard could ask what he meant, Slade left, closing the door behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

Across the city was a string of restaurants; fancy, family-oriented, and fast food. Japanese and Greek food was the most popular in Gotham along with the usual Burger King, McDonald's, and Subway. There was also a few cafes, in which Slade was sitting with a few other men and two women. They were eating light lunches: soup or salad and a sandwich. Slade hardly paid attention to the others' conversations while they waited for their meals. He was looking out the window with his hand to his mouth as he thought about Richard and only Richard. The fact that he couldn't read, write, or count bothered him. It was a miracle that the child survived this long in the cruel world, especially in the cruel life style of Gotham.

"Hello, Slade?" Coming out of his reverie, said man looked over and saw the one who had called him staring at him. "What's with the spaced look on your face?"

Slade smiled lightly. "Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind right now."

That was the understatement of Slade's year…

"Thinking about what?"

Everyone was staring intently at Slade now. He looked at all of his co-workers and wondered if they'd question him by what he could say.

"Well, the other day I met a homeless boy. Someone was trying to hurt him so I made him get in my car and I took him home. I'm not exactly sure why. Anyway, the last few days I've noticed that he can't read or count, like most boys his age should be able to do. I'm contemplating whether to let him stay and teach him or to just let him go back out on the street."

"Well it's nice that you'd want to do that, Slade," one of the women said, "but what would you get in return?"

"He'd get whatever the hell he wants; he's rich enough," another joked. "God only knows how many women he's been with in the last ten years."

The one who first got Slade's attention said, "Don't listen to stupid ass over there, Slade." The man looked at him. "If you really want to help this boy, then you'll just do it, free of charge even. Who knows, you might get even more respect around here for taking time out of your busy day to teach a boy how to be a true citizen of society. If you want to school him then do it."

Make Richard a civil member of society? If Slade did that for him, then he would have to give up the only thing he'd ever truly known; prostitution. Maybe that wasn't a bad thing?

_'__Or you just want Richard to yourself,' _the little voice in his head said. _'He __**was**__ a good fu-'_

"I will consider it," Slade said with a smile.

Feeling better with that idea off his chest, Slade began their meeting.

* * *

Around 2:30, Slade returned to the apartment. The entire car ride he considered the pros and cons of putting Richard through school. One, he would get a good grasp on how to live his own life in a healthy and safe way. Two, he would be happier in the long run. And three, Richard would have a safe and warm place to live. The downside was the time Slade would have to spend on him and the fact that he might not want to give up on his original life style. Once you knew how to do something and do it well, it was hard to give it up or forget about it.

"You were gone a while," Richard said from the couch after Slade walked inside, closing the door behind him. "Do lunch meetings always take so long?"

"We had a lot to discuss," Slade replied as he sat next to him. Richard looked at him, blinking. "What?"

"What did you talk about?"

Slade sighed. "You wouldn't be interested in that kind of drivel." When Richard gave him a confused look, he added, "It means small, boring talk."

"Oh, okay."

Richard looked back at the TV while Slade continued to stare at him. He cleared his throat before discussing his idea.

"I need you to pay attention to me for a minute, Richard." He looked at him. "Turn off the TV." Picking up the remote, Richard pushed the Power button. The screen turned black. He looked back at Slade. "I have been thinking about this since I left earlier. I decided to do more with you than take you to the doctor."

Richard rubbed the back of his head quickly. "I don't do the same man twice, Slade," he said, misinterpreting his comment. "I have my own rules."

Slade gave him a look of confusion before shaking his head. "That's not what I mean. I'm talking about the fact that you have had no schooling whatsoever in your life. I am going to let you live with me while I teach you what boy's your age should already know. Of course, it is entirely up to you. I won't force you to stay."

Richard thought about it for a few seconds. He rubbed the back of his head again. "What would you be teaching me?"

"To read, write, do math, learn about human life, and anything else you want to know about," Slade said. "There will be a few rules if you stay though."

"Like what?"

Slade was silent momentarily. "You must obey me for one. Even if you find a subject boring, you will continue to learn it. And, well, you will have to quit being a prostitute."

Richard's eyes went wide. "What? But-!"

"Look, being a prostitute is dangerous business for someone your age," Slade interrupted. "If you get mixed up with the wrong people, you can get hurt, or worse, killed. You may be able to survive off the money you earn, but you don't know how to spend it properly. You don't know how much money you actually have since you can't count it. I am very concerned about your safety. And, if it's any consolation, I feel like I _need_ to help you. Haven't I been good to you since I saved you from getting hurt?"

Richard stared at Slade with calculating eyes. His offer was tempting, but he felt the best when he was working. Slade asking him to give that up in order to stay and learn from him was hard to make a decision on. He didn't know what to do.

"I don't know. Your offer sounds nice, but the thought of quitting what I've always done seems too hard. I mean, I enjoy what I do. You enjoy what you do, right? What if someone asked you to quit being a rich business man? Would you give it up so easily?"

Slade blinked. Richard had a good point there. However… "If I was offered a once in a lifetime chance like this, I would give up _anything_ to have it. I am willing to give up my time to teach you what you should have learned years ago. You have to willingly give up prostitution in return. It is a hard decision, I know that, but it would be for the best."

Slade paused, allowing all of this to go through Richard's brain. He was thinking so hard that he feared he would burst. There was just something about Slade that made him decide on his following answer.

"I will give up being a prostitute in exchange for learning."

Slade stared at him a few seconds longer before holding his hand to him. Richard looked down at it in confusion. "We'll shake on it. I will give up a few hours of my time to teach you if you give up being a prostitute. Deal?"

After a few seconds of hesitation, Richard gripped Slade's hand. "Deal."

Once the handshake ended, Richard wondered what he had gotten himself into.

* * *

The next day, after the deal had been made, Richard fidgeted in his seat beside Slade, nervous about his first check-up in almost ten years. It wasn't so much meeting the doctor, it was the man—or woman's—tests and the results they would bring that worried him. After hearing about deadly diseases before their romp in bed, he was worried he would have them. Obviously he wasn't dead, but he was still worried.

"You don't need to be nervous," Slade said, noticing his discomfort. "He's a good friend of mine."

Richard shook his head. "That's not it. I've met strange men all the time. It's the results of the tests. I could find out in a few days that I'm dying or something. That's scary."

"Yes, that is kind of scary," Slade agreed. "Though I'm pretty sure you'll be just fine."

The limo pulled into a parking lot. The small window rolled down.

"We're here, sir," Wintergreen said.

"Thank you."

Slade and Richard took off their seat belts and then exited the vehicle. Two hundred feet away sat a small white building with two glass doors in the middle of it. Slade made his way toward it as Richard stared in worry. After a few seconds hesitation, he jogged after him to catch up. They entered a small waiting room and stepped to an open window, showing a woman sitting at a desk in a tiny office. Slade placed his hands on the edge of the windowsill. The woman looked up. They both smiled.

"What are you doing here, Slade? I haven't seen you in a while."

Slade placed his hand on Richard's shoulder. "I'm here for a noon check-up for Richard. Is Dr. Wayne in?"

"Yes, he is," the woman said. "He should be in his office."

"Thank you, Milly," Slade said. "Let's go Richard."

Slade led him past the office window and into a hall. They walked down to the door at the end. After knocking, they heard a muffled, "come in". Slade turned the doorknob and pushed the door in. Richard walked in after him, entering a small office. At the end of the room in front of a large window sat a desk and a black-haired man sitting behind it. He was writing in a check book. Slade and Richard stopped in front of the desk.

"Just give me _one_ more second…"

"Bruce, I am a very busy man you know." The doctor stopped his writing and slowly looked up. Richard quirked an eyebrow when both men grinned. "Long time no see my friend."

"Haha, Slade, you old dog!" Richard stifled a small laugh when Bruce got up and gave Slade a man hug—a handshake between their chests. "What do I owe this pleasure?"

Slade cleared his throat. Dr. Wayne hadn't seen Richard yet. "Now before you freak out on me, I want you to know that I've been sheltering a prostitute."

Bruce's smiling face turned to disbelief. "Excuse me, what?" At this, Slade pulled Richard in front of him. Bruce stared at him, blinking for a few seconds before looking back at the man. "How old is he?"

"Fifteen." Dr. Wayne didn't know what to say. "I know you and I have disagreed on a lot of things in the past, but I need you to do this for me. Richard is going to live with me for a while. I need you to be his doctor."

Bruce was quiet momentarily. He cleared his throat. "Alright, I'll be his doctor. I suppose I owe you a favor anyway."

Slade smiled. "Thanks, Bruce."

"Just as long as I don't find out something _happened _between the two of you," Dr. Wayne said, almost absentmindedly. Richard glanced at Slade, who seemed undisturbed by the comment. Bruce headed for the door. "Come with me then." The three left the office and headed back down the hall to a different door. Inside there was medical equipment, a sink and counter, and a check-up table covered in white paper. Bruce turned to Richard as Slade waited by the sink. "Please, take off your shoes." Richard bent down to untie his shoes. After slipping them off, he set them aside. Bruce led him to the end of the room, a clipboard in hand. "Stand up straight on here."

Richard stepped up onto the black step. "What is this anyway?

"It's a weight scale and it also measures your height," Bruce said. He pointed to the sliders. "You move this back and forth until this point," he pointed to the arrow, "is exactly in the middle. The big slider is moved over to the one hundred pounds." Bruce moved it over. The arrow was still at the top. "Now I move the smaller slider to add more pounds to the one hundred." He showed Richard how the device worked. The arrow hit the bottom. "If it falls completely, it means I've added too much. So then I adjust it until it is in the middle."

Bruce adjusted the slider until it wavered in the center. "You only weigh one hundred and fifteen pounds. A boy your age and height should be around the one hundred and forty range." Bruce wrote Richard's weight on his piece of paper. He then checked his height, which was at five-foot-four. After writing it down, he said, "Now you need to sit on this table here."

Richard got off the scale, turned around, and walked over to the cushioned table. He sat down. Slade folded his arms over his chest and watched Dr. Wayne perform the usual procedures on him: checking his temperature, examining his throat, testing his reflexes, and using the stethoscope to make sure his breathing was normal. Everything seemed to be in check. He wrote every little detail on his clipboard. Richard wondered what he wrote the longer he watched the pen move.

"I'm not dying am I?"

Slade stifled a chuckle. Bruce stared at Richard confusedly. "No, Richard, you're not. You sound healthy enough. However, if you don't start taking better care of yourself, you could contract a disease."

"That is why I'll be keeping Richard at home with me," Slade piped up, being silent up to this point. "I'll be taking care of him from here on out."

"Well, then we don't have much to worry about," Dr. Wayne said. "Is there anything important that we should discuss?"

"There is, actually," Slade said. He stepped up to both of them. "I want Richard tested for STDs."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard right, Bruce."

Dr. Wayne scratched his head furiously. "Oh alright. It's my sworn duty after all to take care of all my patients." He turned to Richard. "I need you to lie on your back, Richard." Nodding, he swung his legs around and then laid back. He was kind of nervous now, not knowing how this procedure was done. Bruce put on sterile gloves and grabbed a few swabs and test tubes. After setting the items down on a metal side table, he said, "You're going to have to spread your legs open for me to swab the openings. Try not to flinch."

_'__Try not to become hard is more like it,' _Slade thought.

As Bruce pulled his pants and boxers down, Richard said, "Slade?"

"Yes, Richard?"

"This might seem a silly question to ask," he said to distract himself as Bruce got the first swab ready, "but…could you hold my hand?"

Slade blinked in surprise. "Yes, alright."

He walked over as Richard lifted his hand. The second he grabbed his palm, Slade felt like they were the only two in the room. No, scratch that; the only two in the world. The feeling increased when he gripped it firmly. His heart beat quickened as though electricity was flowing through Richard's soft skin and through him. He suddenly felt like he did about twenty years ago with-

"Slade?"

Coming out of his strange trance, Slade looked down and saw Richard's soft facial expression.

"Alright, all done," Dr. Wayne said as he closed the last test tube.

Slade and Richard stared at each other a few seconds longer, Bruce not realizing the connection between the two.

"Can I have my hand back, Slade?"

Slade flinched unnoticeably when Richard spoke. "Oh, right, sorry." Slade let go of his hand. Richard sat up, pulling his underwear and pants with him. "You can get down now." Richard jumped down to the floor, adjusting his pants properly. Slade turned to Bruce, who was writing more on his clipboard. "I'll fill out the paper work in private."

"Alright, just let me take this to the lab first," Bruce said, cleaning up the room. He left for a few minutes before returning. He looked at Richard. "Milly has a treat waiting for you when you go out into the waiting room. I need to talk to Slade privately in my office."

"Just go back to the car."

Slade ran his hand through Richard's hair as he passed him.

"Just go to the window and Milly will give you your treat," Bruce said.

Richard smiled. "Okay."

Richard left and went to the window. Milly looked up and smiled.

"Hi, Richard," she said, reaching for a coffee mug. She pulled out a plastic wrapped, red, cherry lollipop and handed it to him. "There you go. Enjoy."

Richard smiled. "Thank you."

He turned around and left, heading for the limo. Meanwhile, Slade was with Bruce in his office. They both sat down.

"How did you come across that boy, Slade?" Bruce asked.

"He was forced against my car by some drunk person," Slade began. "I don't know why, but I told him to get in and I asked him some questions. That's when I found out he was a fifteen-year-old prostitute. I took him back to my apartment and gave him something to eat. I told him he had to stay at least until today so that I could take him to the doctor. Of course, he tried to leave the next morning but I stopped him. At some point he back talked me and I locked him in my room the rest of the day and night. I told him he had to apologize for being rude and in return I would apologize for hurting his arm. He didn't answer me until I went to his side and asked again. Then he gave me this look and one thing led to another."

Bruce had a furrowed brow for a few seconds before he connected two and two together. His eyes widened in surprise and outrage.

"Slade, you didn't!"

Slade smiled sheepishly. "Guilty."

"God, Slade, what if he has AIDs or HIV? There are no cures for that!"

"We used protection-"

"That doesn't make it right goddammit!" Bruce yelled, slamming his fist onto the table. "You had sex with a fifteen-year-old male prostitute! That makes you a pedophile! What the hell were you thinking?"

"Nothing, apparently," Slade said. Bruce scowled. "Look, I knew you wouldn't be happy if I told you, but I was willing to risk losing our friendship over it. But Richard needs you just as much as he needs me. Now I usually don't beg, but _please_, calm down and help me."

The room became deathly quiet. Bruce kept the scowl a few seconds longer before relaxing and sitting back. He sighed.

"Alright, I will continue to be Richard's doctor. Just tell me why you're doing this for him." Slade explained how Richard didn't know how much fifty and five equaled to and what his co-worker from the meeting had said. "So he has agreed to end his life as a prostitute in exchange to learn?"

"Exactly."

Bruce stared fiercely at Slade for a few seconds before sighing. "Do you plan on having any other _fantasies_ with Richard?"

Slade shrugged. "Possibly not. If something leads towards it, I will probably stop it from happening."

"Sounds like a very slim chance to me," Bruce said, standing. "But for now, I'll take your word for it." Slade also stood up as Bruce headed for the door. They left the office and went down the hall. "I will e-mail you the results in the next three to four days. And you can put the bill on your tab for now."

They entered the waiting room. Slade smiled at his friend. "I'll see you next month then. Good-bye."

Slade turned around and walked to the door. Bruce stared after him with a worried expression.

"That boy might be good for Mr. Wilson," Milly said, not looking away from her computer.

Dr. Wayne glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Shaking his head, he walked back into the hall without a word. Outside, Slade was approaching the limo. He looked inside and didn't see Richard. Looking around quickly, he spotted him by a thin tree with most of its leaves gone. He was looking at something, but Slade didn't know what. Walking up behind him, he saw a bird in her nest, covering the sticks and twigs with moss.

"I told you to wait by the car."

Richard looked at him and then pointed to the bird. "What kind of bird is that? I've seen them a lot but I don't know what it's called."

Slade looked at the nest. "That is a red-breasted robin. In spring, they mate and have chicks. Once they are old enough and know how to fly, they essentially get kicked out of the nest to make their own. They're small but they make good nests for their young. I like to think they have a strong will."

Richard stared at the robin in fascination. He smiled weakly. "I like that name. It reminds me of me." Slade looked down at him and saw the sad look on his face. "I wish my parents could see it."

The robin chirped, looked around quickly, and then took off. A feather floated through the air as the wind appeared. Without another word, Richard turned around and headed back for the limo. Slade turned to watch him go. He soon followed him. They got in the car and then headed out of the parking lot. A few blocks away sat another limo, this one a bit smaller than Slade's. The window of the back passenger seat was rolled down a few inches. A pair of light blue eyes stared after the car as it drove away.

"Everything alright sir?" the driver asked.

A man wearing a gray suit with black tie sat in the back of the car. He had light gray hair, a pointed chin, and thin, light blue eyes. Closing them, he smirked.

"Yes, it is. Let's return home."

"Yes, sir."

Turning on the turn signal, the driver looked at his side mirror and then began to pull out. The man in the back rolled the window back up and then sat back with his arms folded over his chest.

"You better prepare yourself, Mr. Wilson," he said quietly to himself. "Because I will have your head yet."

The limo zoomed down the street and out of sight.


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks to all for the help I've gotten for this fic! I really wanna thank** Zarola **for the list of identities and **Wynja's** constructive Criticism

**SladinForever**

* * *

Slade and Richard ate dinner that night mostly in silence. Richard had a lot on his mind, especially his parents. Questions he wanted to ask Slade were running through his head as well. He wanted to know as much about the man as he could. Unable to find a reason why he felt this way, he ignored it.

"We need to figure out sleeping arrangements," Slade said once he was done. "I don't plan on sleeping on the couch forever. You fit better on it anyway."

Richard looked up from his plate. "So sleeping in the same bed is out of the question?

"Let's avoid that option," Slade said. "You might get ideas."

_'You would you mean.'_ Slade ignored the annoying voice.

"What's wrong with that?" Richard asked. Slade stared at him impassively. "Never mind." Richard finished eating. Getting up, Slade took their plates to the sink and washed them. "So this learning thing…how does it work? Since I was in the circus most of my life, I didn't go to a real school. I do kinda remember the alphabet though."

Slade turned off the water and then began drying the plates. "Well, I want to start you off on reading and writing since they are simpler than math." He set one plate aside and then began drying the other. "We have to go to the shopping center tomorrow and I will pick up some materials to help you."

Richard yawned. "Okay."

Slade put the dishes away in their rightful place. "Let's get you ready for bed." Nodding, Richard stood up and followed Slade to his room. He tossed a pillow and blanket to him. "The couch folds out into a bed if you want to use it." They went back into the living room. Richard placed his pillow on the end of the couch and then sat down, draping the blanket over his legs. Slade sat down next to him and grabbed the remote. He turned on the news, which was once again talking about the poor economy. "I want you to go shopping with me. You need better clothes."

Richard looked at him. "Can we also get my money while we're out?"

Slade rubbed at his blind eye with his finger. "I suppose…"

The room became silent except for the TV. After a few minutes, Richard grew bored, hardly understanding what the newscaster was talking about. One of his questions suddenly popped up in his head.

"So you're rich…"

Slade slowly turned his gaze on him. "Yes…"

"And you could spend whatever you want with your money?"

Slade blinked, wondering what this was all about. "Essentially, yes." He paused. "Why the sudden interest about _my_ money?"

Richard scratched the top of his head. "Well it's just…shouldn't you have like a huge house and servants doing all of your cleaning and laundry and cooking? Don't rich people have other people doing their work for them all the time?"

A tiny smirk formed on Slade's face. "I prefer doing things the way I want them done. The only person helping me is my driver, Wintergreen. I trust him with my life."

"Do you pay him?"

"He doesn't want me to," Slade said, "but I do it anyway. I don't leave any room for arguing. I pay him by the month."

A new question came to Richard. "So where does Wintergreen live?"

Slade turned off the TV. "He lives in a small house near Gotham Forest. I bought it for him, even though he protested for weeks."

"Oh, okay." Richard looked back at his legs. Slade looked away as well, both sitting in silence for a few minutes. "So, um, about that bird…" Slade glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "I just really liked what it was called. Could you…possibly call me that when I'm sad or something? Richard is okay, but since change and different are good things, I also want to be different." Richard paused, mentally repeating what he just said. His brow furrowed slightly. "Okay, that was kind of stupid to say."

Slade snorted quietly in amusement. "You want to be called 'Robin' sometimes is it?"

Richard shook his head frantically, his hair falling around his face. "Just forget I said that. It was a stupid idea anyway."

"On the contrary," Slade said, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear, "people give themselves and others nicknames all the time. If someone really likes a different name, they'll get their friends to call them that name instead of the one their parents gave them. If you want to be addressed as 'Robin', then I will try calling you that."

Richard turned his head to look at Slade. "It was just a silly idea. You don't need to bother with it."

"Alright, if you insist, _Robin_." Richard glared at him then. Without a word or retort, he looked away before lying on his side, placing his head on the pillow. Slade shook his head in amusement as he stood up. "I'll be waking you up around eight or nine. Good night."

Richard didn't soften his expression even after Slade walked past him and entered his room. He closed the door behind him and then began getting undressed for bed. For some reason he found Richard's curiosity adorable. The little voice in his head had different words for it, but Slade ignored it. He should never think that way. And besides, why had he changed so much and so quickly? He had had a wife and helped conceive two boys. Slade shouldn't be having perverse, _homosexual_ thoughts towards a boy, especially not to someone as young as Richard. Had he really gone down the path of despair and anguish ever since his wife left him and took their sons away? Slade couldn't remember the last time he had seen those boys' smiling faces.

Well, there was no use dwelling on the past. Like Richard had said, maybe change was good. Of course, Slade didn't think changing into a pedophile was good. He suddenly wondered what he had gotten himself into.

* * *

The next day, Slade decided to test Richard out, to see what he really needed work on. Maybe he knew more than he thought he did, like it was locked away so that he could concentrate on prostitution instead. Hopefully a refresher would do him some good.

Setting a piece of paper and pencil next to his bowl of oatmeal, Slade said, "After you have finished eating, I want you to write your name and what you had for breakfast."

Richard looked at the paper, his spoon stuck in his mouth. "Fwy?"

"Well, think of it this way: sometimes if you concentrate on one thing for a long time, other things get forgotten or are just deep in your subconscious," Slade explained. "Who knows, you may have been born a genius. Getting to write your name might help remember things." Richard pulled his spoon out and thought about it for a second. He pushed the bowl aside, pulled the paper towards him, and picked up the pencil. Slade sat down as he held it tightly in his right hand and watched him write an R slow and a bit sloppily. He took his time, pausing at the _ch _briefly. Almost a minute passed before he finished with a _d_. "Good, you spelled it right, but the R should look like this." Slade erased the tail and curved it, connecting the end to the loop. "Try it again and then write what you ate."

"Okay," Richard said, taking the pencil back and rewriting his name. He then wrote "oatmeal" underneath. He smiled a bit. "I kinda remember something."

"What's that?"

Richard blinked. He saw a younger version of himself eating a bowl of oatmeal with shriveled lumps in it. "My mom used to pour raisins in my oatmeal on Saturday morning. I really like raisins I guess."

Richard rubbed at his eye, pretending that something had gotten in it. Slade could see right through him though. Whenever he mentioned his parents, he got a sad look on his face. Slade felt sad at times when he remembered his past. He had lost the use of tears a long time ago once he told himself that he needed to stop feeling sorry for what happened.

"You should write that down then," Slade said. "Then I want to see if you can write out the alphabet." For the next two or so minutes, Richard tried to write all twenty-six letters of the alphabet, mixing up his N and M and U and W. His handwriting wasn't that bad. Once he was done, Slade took the paper and scanned it quickly. "Like I said, you must know more than you think you do. Once I get you some exercise books today, we will see just how much you actually know. After you shower, we can go."

Richard took a quick shower, repeating the alphabet in his head a few times. Meanwhile, Slade contacted Wintergreen, who came right away. By the time Richard pulled on his worn out shoes, the limo pulled up a few feet away from the building. They left the apartment and got in the back of the vehicle. Slade told Wintergreen to go to the clothing store that sold brand name clothes and shoes—respectively named Gotham Appareal. After a fifteen-minute drive, they pulled into a parking space and then the car turned off. Slade and Richard got out and headed for the large glass doors.

"I've never been here before," Richard said. "I usually went to Walmart."

"It's a bit more expensive here than Walmart, but this is better quality," Slade said as they went to the men's section of shirts and pants. "What are you most comfortable in?"

"T-shirts mostly. And loose jeans."

With some idea of what he would like, Slade pulled down a few plain colored T's in medium size. They then went to the jeans. He grabbed two pairs of Levi's, three Lee's, and two Dickies brand jeans, all in a mid-to-dark blue. He then took Richard to the changing rooms and handed him the clothes.

"Pick the ones that are the most comfortable," Slade said, pushing him gently towards a door.

Richard went in and closed and locked the door behind him. He set the jeans on the bench and the shirts on the door. Trying the jeans first, he unbuckled his belt and then unzipped his pants. He slipped them off quickly before grabbing a pair of Lees. The first pair was too tight around the waist. The second were all right along with the third. He set those aside then tried the Levi's. Soon all pairs had been tried out. Richard had three to choose from that he really liked—two Lees and a Dickie. Next were the shirts…

Meanwhile, Slade had decided to look at tennis shoes. He found several pairs that he thought Richard would possibly like. He chose a few Starters, two Dr. Scholls, Sketchers, and Nike. He estimated that his shoe size was seven or eight. Grabbing all the shoes in his arms, Slade returned to the dressing room and set them down right as the door opened and Richard emerged. He had two red shirts and his three pairs of jeans.

"Well?" Slade asked.

"These," Richard said, setting them on his shoulder. "And then two plain red shirts."

Nodding, Slade indicated the shoes. "I don't know what kind of shoe you like, so I brought over a few. What shoe size are you?"

"Seven," Richard said. "And I prefer Starters; much more comfortable on my feet."

"Alright, then try them on and pick a color. There's black, white, and red." Richard tried the shoes on. The second one was much comfier. He picked black with white shoelaces. Once his clothes had been chosen, Slade carried them on his arms. "Alright, now school supplies." They went to Walmart for those after paying. Slade left the clothes in the car under the seat and told Wintergreen they'd only be a few minutes. They entered on the food section side—the left—and headed through towards the middle of the store, where greeting cards, wrapping paper, and office supplies were kept. "I'll get your exercise books and pencils while you pick out a small pencil, pen holder."

"Okay."

Slade went ahead a few rows while Richard looked at the office supplies. He found a black wired-mesh cup with the red Rubbermaid label on the bottom. Picking it up, he left and found Slade. He placed pencils and pens in the cup when he stepped up beside him. They then went over another row where sketch books, notebooks, and exercise books sat.

"I think it will be safe to go with middle school level," Slade said. "Pick a few notebooks." Richard went over to the lined paper notebooks and picked three, three-subject notebooks in red. "And I will buy you a book to read before bed." After grabbing what they needed, they went to the books and magazines section. Richard looked at the covers briefly. His eye caught the Magic Tree House series. He grabbed the first one and tried to read the back. It took some time, but he managed pretty well. "Someone I know loves these books. He probably has the entire collection up-to-date by now I would think. You can get the first three."

"Okay," Richard said, grabbing the next two. Once done, they checked out and returned to the limo. Wintergreen pulled out of the parking space and then drove out. Richard sat next to Slade, rubbing at his right eye with his pointer finger. "Are we still going to pick up my money?"

Slade glanced at him. "I think it's best for you to just leave it hidden wherever it is. It would be safer that way."

"Oh, okay."

The rest of the way home was in silence.

* * *

"Hey, Slade?"

Richard was reading his new book that night after dinner. Slade was watching the news.

"Yes?"

"Thanks for today. It was really nice of you."

"Mh," Slade responded.

"I mean, I always thought rich people were ass—jerks and only cared about themselves."

Richard had almost uttered a swear word right then.

"Believe me, not all are," Slade said, turning the television off. He got up, scratching the back of his head. "Though, yes, a lot don't care too much but themselves, their homes, and their money. I don't go bragging about how much money I have or earn a year."

Closing his book, Richard set it aside. Slade pulled a water bottle from the fridge.

"That's good." Richard yawned. "I'm going to go to bed."

"Alright. Good night."

"Night."

Richard went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and then grabbed his pillow and blanket. Going into the living room, he put them down before grabbing his book from the kitchen. He lay on his back and opened to the page he had been on. Slade was washing the dishes, so it was quiet except for the water and the turning of pages. After a while, Richard's eyelids drooped. He slowly lowered the book to his chest and closed his eyes. He fell asleep almost instantly. Soon Slade finished the final dish and cleaned off the counters with the sponge. Once the kitchen was spotless, he walked into the living room and stared down at Richard. His right hand was lying on his book. Being as careful as possible, Slade lifted his arm gentle and slowly before grabbing the book and pulling it away. He closed it quietly while putting his arm back. When he stood up straight, Richard rolled over, clutching at his pillow. Slade continued to stare down at him, his eyes narrowed slightly. His hair looked shiny and soft as it lay over his forehead. He looked so peaceful…

_'We both know what you're really thinking.'_

Shaking his head quickly, Slade told it to shut up. The voice. Prying his gaze away from Richard, he turned around and put the book back on the kitchen table. He shut off all the lights and, without looking at the huddled mass, went into his room and got into bed. The next few weeks were going to be very long and weird.

* * *

Thursday had finally arrived. While Richard ate an English muffin with peanut butter on it, Slade was looking at his e-mails. A half-drunken smoothie sat beside his Macbook with a white and red striped bendy straw sticking up from the tall glass. He moved all Spam to the spam folder and then emptied it. When he returned to his inbox, a new e-mail had appeared. The heading simply read Lab Results. Having a hunch on what it was about, Slade opened it. The top had Doctor Wayne's office and clinic address on it. He scanned the results, a small smile tugging at his mouth.

"Richard?"

"What?"

Slade looked at Richard over the top of the lid. "I have your test results back from Bruce," he said, turning the laptop around. Richard glanced at the small chart. HIV was at the top and next to it in the next column was a minus sign. He scanned the page, not knowing any of the other words at all. "All negatives. Your reproductive organs are just fine."

Richard smiled slightly. "That's good." He looked at Slade. "Do I get a reward for this?"

Slade turned the laptop back around. "Yes, learning. Today, you are going to write a sentence. You zoomed through those exercise books pretty fast. We'll try an introduction of yourself to start you off. Finish your breakfast and then go get one of your notebooks." After finishing his last bite of warm, yummy, gooey-ness, Richard went into Slade's room and grabbed his notebook. He grabbed a pencil on the way out and then returned to the table. "Just write a greeting, your name, how old you are, etcetera. Show it to me when you're done."

"Okay." While Slade e-mailed Bruce back, Richard started to write _Hi_. He was a very fast learner and his handwriting had improved ten-fold. After ten minutes he wrote a small paragraph. "Done." After sending the reply e-mail, Slade took the notebook and read it to himself. The very first thing he noticed was the name. Instead of "Richard", he had written "Robin". "I can tell by that look that you noticed it."

Slade looked over the top of the notebook to see Richard looking at him. "Starting to get used to that name then?"

"A little," Richard said with a small smile. "You can call me it whenever you want."

"Alright, Ro-"

"But it'll cost you."

Slade blinked. "Excuse me?"

Richard now had a devilish smirk on his face. "What, did you think I would let you call me by any other name for free? I am a prostitute after all."

Slade wasn't sure he liked this side of Richard. The voice in his head did though.

"Then I will stick with Richard."

Slade went back to reading, trying to ignore the strong will to tie Richard to the headboard of his bed and fuck him senseless. His body suddenly tensed slightly when he felt Richard move.

"Aww, come on, Slade." Slade lowered his arm and watched as Richard stepped up beside him. "I'm breaking one of my rules to give us what we both need." Slade set the notebook down when Richard tried getting onto his lap. He straddled him and smirked. With his right hand pointer finger, he traced his chest with it in small circles. "Come on. I deserve a reward for being so good this past week, don't I?"

Slade swallowed when Richard looked up at him with a glazed look in his eyes. He had to fight the voice and his body's urges. Gaining some power, he gripped Richard's arms firmly.

"If you even try anything, you will get punished for it. And I spank. _Hard_."

Richard trailed his hand to Slade's belt. "That would just turn me on," he said, trying to sound seductive, which he succeeded in fairly well.

Slade grabbed his hand by the wrist. "Richard, get up and go straight into that room," he said firmly, coming across as someone who didn't find any humor in this kind of behavior. "You're to stay in there until five."

Richard pouted. "You're mean," he said, fake sounding hurt. Nevertheless, he got up, grabbed his notebook and pencil, and stormed towards the bedroom. Slade shook his head when he slammed the door shut. Richard threw the notebook on the dresser and then sat down on the bed. He folded his arms over his chest, his brow furrowed. "I'll find a way to get you in my pants again."

Out in the living room, Slade was e-mailing Bruce.

_Bruce,  
Richard has gotten bolder in the last few days. He just tried seducing me and almost succeeded. I could use some tips on babysitting. I haven't done it since Addie took the boys away. Help?  
Slade_

Slade sent the e-mail and waited for a reply. One soon came and he read it quietly to himself in a rush.

_It's rare to see you asking me for help. Since Richard hasn't had a proper family, he will be a little rebellious. To fix that, just keep being nice to him and reward him in a healthy way. Try taking him out to eat or go to the park when he does something good. If he tries seducing you again, put him in timeout. I know that sounds childish, but in Richard's case, he is still a child. There is no doubt, though, that he is fairly mature. But that can also make him, in a sense, dangerous. Just watch yourself, Slade  
-Bruce-_

Well, that seemed easy enough. After thanking him for the tips, Slade shut the computer down and went in the living room to watch the news.


	5. Chapter 5

Slade was in the kitchen at the table, strumming his fingers on the wood surface. Every few seconds he glanced at his locked bedroom door, wondering why Richard was so quiet. He tried his very best to just leave him alone and do something else. For two hours he watched TV. Then he had an apple then later had lunch. After that he washed the dishes, checked his e-mail, and contacted people about meetings that he wanted to plan in the upcoming weeks. That took about an hour and a half. Then from then on until now—about three-thirty—he had played several games of Solitaire. Slade _never_ played Solitaire; _ever_. He could not emphasize that enough. And, the whole time, Richard was quiet. He didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing. What had the boy been doing that entire time?

Slade's stomach suddenly made a strange gurgle sound followed by mild discomfort. Sighing, he stood up and went to the fridge for water. Once again, his digestive tract was acting up. He made a mental note to see Bruce about trying to fix it. For the past month his body had trouble digesting food properly. To put it simply, he had to use the bathroom and it wouldn't be pretty. Now Slade wished his bathroom was _outside_ his room. He would go to a neighbor, but that would be rude. Sighing, he put the bottle down and approached his room. He unlocked the door and slowly pushed it open. Stepping in, he glanced around. Richard seemed to be sleeping under the covers, much to his relief. Softly closing the door, Slade walked into his bathroom and closed the door behind him. Richard's eyes opened and he slowly sat up, a triumphant, evil smirk on his face. He had waited a long time for this moment. Slade would have _no_ _idea_ what hit him.

Almost a full thirty-five minutes passed before the toilet flushed. Sighing with relief, Slade washed his hands, dried them, and then turned back to the door. Picking up a can of Febreeze, he sprayed a good amount before setting it back down and then opening the door. Slade stepped out, took a few steps, and then stopped. Slowly looking up, he saw Richard lying stark naked on his bed, his arms behind his head. He was looking up at the ceiling, pretending he didn't notice him. An awkward silence filled the room and Slade found himself unable to walk or look away.

_What did I tell you? _The voice in his head asked. _For a kid, he's exquisite. You should explore him some more._

Richard turned his head to look at Slade, a small smile on his face. "Oh hi, I didn't see you there." He sat up. "I guess I should put some clothes on huh? Sometimes I like sleeping without wearing anything."

Slade finally made his way out of La La Land and glared. "Yes, you should," he said sternly, reciting Bruce's advice in his head to stop him from doing something stupid. Turning to the door, he walked towards it. "You're still stuck in here for misbehaving earlier." Richard's eyes widened slightly. His plan failed? He was so sure it would work and Slade would be on him in seconds. But he just walked away? Richard was very determined now. Getting up, he walked after Slade, grabbed his arm, and pulled him back. "Hey!"

Richard had used so much force that he actually fell backwards, bringing Slade with him. They both fell to the floor unceremoniously, Slade landing on top of him. Richard groaned at being squashed. Gritting his teeth and clenching his eyes shut, Slade rolled to the left, unintentionally straddling the naked teen beneath him. He opened his eyes and glared down at him. Richard stared back, trying to look innocent.

"I didn't-" Slade slapped him in the face, making him cry out, his head jerking to the side. "Wh-Why'd you do that? That hurt!"

Snorting, Slade stood up and stepped to the side of him. He grabbed his arm, yanked him to his feet, and threw him onto the bed. "Get dressed and don't you _ever _pull a stunt like that again." Richard sat up, rubbing his sore, red cheek. "And I slapped you because spanking won't work on you."

Turning on his heel, Slade walked out and slammed the door behind him. He locked it and then headed for the front door, grabbing a jacket on the way out. A good walk outside would help calm him down. Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Richard was yanking his jeans on, glaring with such force that tears formed in his eyes. After putting on his T-shirt, he stomped towards the door and tried to open it. When it didn't, he kicked it.

"Let me out! Fuck learning, I'm not coming back!" Richard checked the doorknob to unlock it, but this was the kind of lock that only locked on one side and couldn't be unlocked from the other. "Slade, open the door! I'm not staying here any longer! Unlock the door!" There was no response. "You stupid old man, let me out! Asshole!"

Richard yelled every curse word he knew, hoping to anger Slade enough to open the door. If that happened, he would kick or punch him and run away, like the last time. He would go back to being a prostitute and not care about learning ever again. When the door remained closed, Richard looked around and spotted the windows. He stormed over to one and checked to see if they could open. He pushed and lifted each one, but they wouldn't budge. Growling in anger, Richard went to the dresser, yanked out a drawer, and dumped its contents to the floor. Going back to the window a few feet away, he lifted the drawer with both hands, held it by the side of his head, and then threw it. His eyes widened when the window jerked but didn't crack or break. The drawer fell to the floor with a loud thud.

_'__I don't believe this!'_

For the next five minutes, Richard chucked the drawer at the window, but it remained relatively unharmed. The last one landed on his toes, which is when he decided to give up. He had to pee anyway, so he went into the bathroom and emptied his bladder, not bothering to flush afterward. As he passed the body mirror, he stopped and then back tracked. Turning to the glass, Richard stared at his reflection. His face was red from being angry and dried tear tracks stained his skin. His shoulders slumped when he realized what he had done. Leaving the bathroom then, he looked around the bedroom and felt worse about his behavior than before. No one in the past had ever let him stay with them like Slade was doing. Most of the jobs he took were either in clubs, bars, or in vehicles and then he was kicked out. A few times when he had been with men in cars, they threw him out and then drove away, leaving him stranded in dangerous places, most occasions being in Gotham Forest in the dark. Back then, Richard didn't think it was cruel, only normal. But now that he had been with Slade for two weeks, he realized the cold, hard truth.

"Everyone has abandoned me, but not you," he spoke out loud. "I bet you're _proud_ of me now mom and dad."

Sniffling, Richard walked back to the bed, got under the blanket, and laid down to wait for Slade. There was only one thing he had to do. Apologize for the brat he really was.

* * *

The front door to the apartment slowly opened around five and Slade walked in, carrying a plastic bag with white Styrofoam containers closed inside. He went into the kitchen and set it on the counter. Running his hand through his hair, he walked to his bedroom door and unlocked it. He opened the door and walked in.

"Richard it's-" Slade stopped when he saw the drawer on the floor along with his clothes by the dresser. Looking at the window, he saw scuff marks on it from when Richard had thrown the drawer at it. His gaze went back to him; he had fallen asleep. Sighing, he went to his side and shook his shoulder. "Richard, wake up." He stirred. "You better not be faking it." Richard's eyes stirred and then opened. He blinked several times before adjusting his sight. Looking over his shoulder, Richard saw Slade staring down at him, his eyes narrowed slightly. "You made a mess and didn't pick it up. You like pissing me off don't you?"

Richard stared at him a few seconds longer before looking away. "I'm sorry. For everything." Slade blinked. "I behaved stupidly. You have been nothing but nice to me since you saved me and I treated you badly in return. I'm sorry for trying to get you in bed with me again and for trying to break out by breaking the window. I'm sorry I didn't pick up the mess I made and for calling you an "old man" and an "asshole". I'm sorry, for all of it." Richard paused, waiting for Slade's reaction. He was actually impressed. The next thing Richard said, however, bothered him. "Do you hate me?"

Slade's eyes widened slightly. "You think I hate you?" Richard sniffed. "I can't believe you would even ask me that."

Richard sat up, looking at him with sad eyes. "It's true isn't it?" Tears formed in his eyes. "That's why you hit me and locked me up right?"

Slade was one hundred percent certain that Richard was not faking this. It was hard to look at him with the tears streaming down his face.

"I don't hate you, Richard." Slade sat on the edge of the bed beside him. "I admit I shouldn't have slapped you, but I locked you in here since this is the best place for a timeout. I can't sit you in front of a corner or you will leave. I don't want you to leave because I want to help you grow up like all boys do. I don't hate you. If I did, do you really think I would let you stay here?"

Richard sniffed and wiped his eyes. "I-I guess not."

Placing his arm behind him, Slade rubbed soothing circles on his back. "I could never hate you, Richard. Deep down you are a good kid. I want to be your friend and help you grow up. Right?"

Richard wiped the tears off his cheeks. "Y-Yeah."

Slade smiled softly. "That's a good boy." He ruffled his hair with his entire hand a few times. "Clean up the mess and then come out for dinner. I bought Japanese food."

Richard nodded and said, "Okay."

Pushing his hair back down flat, Slade stood up and handed him the drawer. He then left to set the table. Going to the counter, he untied the bag and started pulling the boxes out, setting them aside. Slade then opened the silverware drawer and grabbed two big forks. Picking up the boxes, one in each hand, he set them on the table and then grabbed napkins. Richard soon came out and sat in his chair.

"What would you like to drink?" Slade asked.

"Water, please," Richard said, picking up his fork. Nodding, Slade went to the fridge and pulled out the Brita filter. He grabbed a glass from the dish drainer when Richard asked, "What kind of chicken is this?"

Slade poured water into his glass and then walked over to give it to him. "Teriyaki. There are vegetables covered in Teriyaki sauce and rice in it." Slade put the Brita away before sitting down. "I also bought two rolls of California Rolls."

Richard swallowed a bite of chicken before asking, "California Rolls?"

"It's sushi," Slade replied. "After dinner we'll eat them."

Nodding, Richard went back to eating his dinner. They ate silently for a while.

"Are you still mad at me?" Richard soon asked.

Slade smiled. "No, I'm not. I accept your apology."

Richard's spirits were now lifted. He smiled. "I'm glad."

Slade nodded before grabbing his napkin and wiping his mouth. He then stood up and went to grab the sushi. Richard finished his water and his last few bites of rice. Slade returned to the table, setting the long Styrofoam containers down next to him. He opened the lid, revealing its contents.

"This is a California Roll," Slade began to explain. "The pink thing in the middle surrounded by the sticky rice is salmon. The green thing next to it is a cucumber piece. To keep it all together, it's wrapped tightly in seaweed. There are other versions of it, but this is my favorite. Sometimes rice is the outer layer and it's crab meat instead of salmon. Avocado is sometimes used too." Richard looked disdainfully at it. "Just try it. I'm sure you'll like it just fine."

Getting up his courage, Richard picked up the end slice closest to him and moved it towards his mouth. He sniffed it briefly before putting the whole thing into his mouth and chewing. His face lit up then, making Slade chuckle. He swallowed it when he was done.

"The Japanese sure know what they're doing," he said, picking up another slice.

"I'm glad you like it," Slade said, picking up a piece. "When we're done, we can go watch TV."

"Othay," Richard said, his mouth full. Slade chuckled before biting into his. For the next five minutes they ate sushi. Their hands accidentally bumped into each other when they both reached for the final one. Richard jerked his hand back. "Sorry."

Slade smiled. "You can have it," he said, standing up to clean the table.

Richard looked at the last piece and swallowed. "We can split it." Slade set the forks in the sink before looking at him. "Knife?"

Slade blinked. Richard seemed to have changed so fast. He began to wonder what had happened after he left. "I don't want anymore, but thank you." Shrugging, Richard picked up the sushi and plopped it into his mouth. After swallowing, he closed his container. "There might be a movie on we can watch. I'll clean up."

"Okay."

After washing his hands, Richard went into the living and turned on the TV. He flipped through channels as Slade threw the Styrofoam containers and bag away in the trash under the sink. Once the kitchen was clean, he joined Richard on the couch.

"Anything?"

"Not really," Richard said, setting the remote down. "You choose."

Slade looked at him with a quirked eyebrow. "You've become very indecisive. I must have slapped you harder than I thought."

Richard was silent momentarily. "I'm worried I'll say something stupid," he said dejectedly. "I mean, I guess I am since I don't even know much of anything. I know two-plus-two is four, but a five-year-old would probably know that."

Slade shook his head. "Don't ever think you're stupid, Robin," he said, using his nickname this time. "You know so much already. We're just going to keep learning. I mean, I have to learn how to be a caretaker since I wasn't much of one before. We'll get through this; together."

Richard looked at Slade and smiled. "Okay."


	6. Chapter 6

For the next few days, Richard learned for hours at a time, only taking breaks to use the bathroom or for lunch. Slade had looked online for home schooling information, like how much it cost and how it was done. There was online learning, which he thought would be better. Not that schools in Gotham were bad, but Slade wanted to keep a close eye on Richard at all times. What better way to do that than within his home? He had a working computer. Hell, he could just buy Robin his own laptop if he wanted one. Yeah, that was a good idea.

"So, I was thinking of putting you through online school," Slade said at dinner one night. "I would want you to go into high school level since you are pretty smart already. This way, you can be able to go to college when you're older. What do you think?"

Robin slurped in a spaghetti noodle before looking up at Slade. "Well, shouldn't _you_ decide? Because I have no idea."

He picked up his slice of garlic bread and bit into it, butter pooling into his mouth.

"I think it would be better this way," Slade said. "I fund the schools here in Gotham, so they're fairly safe and have a higher graduating percentage than in other states, but I want to keep a close eye on you. Plus, you may not be comfortable going. I want to make sure you want to do it this way. I want you to get a good education, including college. I'm all fore it. I just need your approval before I contact anyone."

Richard pondered this offer for a few seconds. It sounded like a good idea. And he would still be doing it here, with Slade close by. So why not?

"Yeah, sounds good to me."

Slade smiled. "Alright, then I will call in tomorrow to get you into the curriculum. Since it will be online, and I use my computer for business only, I'm going to get you your own. Would you like one?"

Robin swallowed some water. "Yeah, that would be great. I know how to use them. I used to use the ones in the library all the time."

"Alright, then you and I will do some shopping," Slade said. "Speaking of the library, I will register you for a library card so you can get books there. That way you don't have to buy books all the time."

Robin nodded. "Okay."

After dinner, Slade had him wash dishes while he dried them. Every night they alternated jobs. Then, if Slade wasn't out with business associates, they would watch a movie on TV. Slade was going to start renting movies on random occasions. After the movie, Richard showered and then got ready for bed. He had his own drawer in the man's dresser now. He grabbed a pair of black briefs and white shorts. Slade was using the bathroom while he got dressed. A few minutes later and he emerged, yawning.

"I need to see Bruce tomorrow while we're out," he said, pulling his covers and sheets back. "I need to get some medication for my stomach."

Richard nodded and said good night. He grabbed his pillow off the bed and then left, leaving Slade's door open. The minute his head hit the pillow, he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Come one, come all! Please, take a comfortable seat! The show is about to begin!"

People filed into the wooden stands, taking their seats. It was fairly dark. The only source of light was the single spotlight hovering over a small, circular stand covered on the side with purple and red triangles. Underneath one of the stands, an eight-year-old boy was watching and waiting, his face shrouded by the darkness. The small breeze outside made a brightly-colored tarp rustle behind him. Any second now, lights would be flashing on, revealing a fun show. A man with a strange colored tailored suit, including black top hat and cane, walked into the small light, standing up on the small stand. The sound died briefly.

"Thank you for coming to the lovely circus today!" the ringmaster said, twirling his cane around. "Tonight's show is full of magic and wonder! So watch and be amazed!"

The man turned with both arms up in the air, lights coming on as he did. Clowns, elephants, monkeys, and women wearing beautiful silver, red, and gold outfits started to appear within the large circle. Some of the clowns had wooden torches in their hand, a bottle of alcohol in the other. The torches were ablaze with a scolding hot fire. People were cheering and whistling when the performers did a trick or the fire breathers made the flames fly majestically. Three clowns were walking around the stage, juggling plates, bowls, and juggling balls. They even switched off, managing to keep the pace going despite the many distractions.

For the next five minutes these feats occurred, entertaining the whole audience. Once the opening was complete, the ringmaster came out and announced the next act. First came the lion tamer, then the men leaping through the rings of fire. Next came a juggler who was to juggle up to twenty, deadly sharp knives gradually. He started out with three, then five, then seven, and so on. For the next twenty minutes, stunts were performed. The ringmaster reappeared once the last act left the ring.

"Now, it is time for the fantastic finale; the Trapeze Act!" he said enthusiastically. "For the last ten years this couple have been in our family! Tonight, they will both be performing without a safety net! So give a warm welcome to the famous, Flying, GRAYSONS!"

The boy under the stands jumped to his feet and looked up as the lights traveled to the top of the large tent. On opposite sides of the ring were two tall platforms that reached halfway to the ceiling. One man and one woman were standing on top, holding trapeze swings. They both waved to the audience before grabbing the bars with both hands. At the same time, they jumped off and began to swing back and forth for momentum. After a few more pumps, the two adults soared forward and then let go, flipping through the air. They sailed right past each other, both grabbing the opposite swing they started from. The man turned around and then swung his legs up. He grabbed the bar with his knees bent. The man and woman sailed towards each other again. The boy under the stands watched the two people do their tricks, looking worried.

It was almost over. It was the woman's turn to catch her partner. The man swung around on the bar three times before letting go and flying high into the air. He rolled backwards three times before starting to fall. The audience gasped. The man had fallen too short. Or so the people thought. He grabbed the woman's hands, holding on tight. They swung through the air and the audience sighed and cheered with relief. The performers sailed past the one stand and were coming back for the man to return to his swing. That is when the ropes snapped. The boy's eyes widened.

"NO!"

Some of the audience began to scream as the man and woman plummeted towards the ground. There was no time to bring out the safety net. Other circus performers rushed out, including the ringmaster and the boy. He sailed right past everyone, reaching the Flying Graysons first as they lay on the ground, unmoving. The ringmaster came next, pushing the boy out-of-the-way.

"Everyone, stay back!" Some of the audience had appeared to see if the two people were alright. The boy with the black hair watched in horror as the ringmaster felt their necks. He froze. "Oh God." He turned to one of the clowns. "Go get Dr. Blaine. Hurry!" Nodding, the clown ran off. The man then turned to a woman in red close to the boy. "Ammy, take Richard and go."

Ammy nodded and tried to grab the boy, but he stepped out of her reach, tears streaming down his face.

"No! Let me see mom and dad!"

The boy tried to reach them, but the ringmaster turned around and grabbed his arms to stop him.

"No, Richard! Go with Ammy. You can't help them."

"I want to see them!"

"You won't be able to handle it!"

"Yes I can!" Richard practically screamed. He managed to push the man away and reach his parents. Landing in front of them on his knees, he shook his parents' shoulders, calling their names. "Mom! Dad! Please, wake up! Please!"

The lights within the tent started to dim. The sounds of the people died away. It was soon pitched black except for a single spotlight over Richard and his dead parents. He sobbed and cried, calling them in vain. Wrapping his arms around his stomach, he bent forward with his shining blue, tear-filled eyes clenched shut. Opening his mouth, he screamed and cried, the darkness swallowing him. Soon the Flying Graysons started to fade, the spotlight dimming now too. With each passing second Richard started to change, first in size, then in appearance, and then last in outfit. He grabbed his head with his hands, sobbing loudly. Soon, there was nothing but him and the darkness. The only sound was of his crying.

A few seconds later, Richard froze, his body tightening. He had heard something. The noise steadily grew louder, becoming more coherent. With eyes wide, Richard slowly looked behind him, his fear evident on his face. A black shadow floated behind him. In the middle of it was a large, scary mouth with sharp, jagged teeth. It started laughing hysterically. It suddenly flew towards Richard, who quickly rolled over and tried to scramble away. As he stumbled to his feet, his body half bent, the shadow opened its mouth wider and flew straight at him. Richard lifted his arms in front of him, bracing himself. Shutting his eyes tight, he felt the shadow fly straight through him. He flew back, the shadow coming out of his back and going back into the darkness. Richard started to fall, expecting to hit the ground any second. Instead, he continued to fall, the breath in his chest dying. Opening his mouth, he screamed.

* * *

Richard bolted up from the couch, a small scream coming out of his mouth. His face and torso were dripping with a cold sweat and he was breathing fast and hard. He blinked a few times, adjusting to the dark. Richard jumped when thunder and lightning came from the sky. The windows shuttered and a resounding crack filled the living room. Swallowing, he shook his head and got up. He went to the sink to wash his face with cold water. He also drank some, his mouth horribly dry for some reason. Taking a deep breath, Richard went back to the couch and grabbed his pillow. Too scared from his nightmare, he walked to Slade's room and went in. He went to the free side of the bed and then got on it, setting his pillow down. Slade was lying on his stomach, his head facing the opposite way. His arms were tucked under his pillow. Sitting on the backs of his legs beside him, Richard shook his shoulder.

"Slade?" Richard shook his shoulder harder this time when he didn't move. "Slade? Slade, wake up."

After a few more hard shakes, Slade's body jerked and he whipped his head around, his eyes almost completely shut. "Mmh, R-Robin?" Richard lowered his hand and waited for Slade to open his eyes. He looked directly at his face. "What?"

"I-I'm sorry to wake you," Richard said sheepishly. "I just had a really bad nightmare."

Slade inhaled hard and deep, rolling over onto his side. "Oh, I see," he said, still sounding half asleep. He yawned. "W-Want to t-talk about it?"

Richard shook his head. Thunder rumbled in the sky. "Not really." He paused when Slade's body jerked forward suddenly. He reeled back, his eyes opening. "Could…Could I stay in here tonight?"

It took a few seconds for this to register Slade's tired brain. "Stay?" Robin nodded. "This isn't some ploy to-"

"No, I swear," Richard said defensively. "I really did have a nightmare. Please, let me stay."

Slade stared intently at his face in the dark. Too tired to care anymore, he said, "Okay."

As fast as he could, Robin pulled the blanket and sheets out from under him and snuggled in. Slade rolled over onto his back, getting comfortable again. Richard pulled the blanket over him, laid on his right side, and grabbed his pillow with both arms, hugging it. Closing his eyes, he tried to go back to sleep. The crack of thunder interrupted him and his eyes shot open. As stealthy as possible, Richard inched his way closer to Slade. He was almost back to sleep, so he hardly noticed. Sensing this somehow, Richard moved right up to his side, pressing his body against his arm. He tensed when Slade moved it, placing it behind him, and pulling his body up against his chest. He held the back of his head, placing it down under his chin. Robin relaxed then and closed his eyes.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Slade opened his eyes partly, running his fingers gently over his arm as he held him. "Don't mention it."

Richard was soon fast asleep, his mouth partly opened as he breathed. Exhaling out of his nose, Slade closed his eyes, drifting back towards sleep. Soon, not even the thunder and lightning could be heard as their world darkened around them.

* * *

The next morning, Richard moved his spoon lazily through his oatmeal, yawning as he held the side of his face in his hand. Slade was on the computer, looking at an online registration for home schooling. He read up on the information on Samischooling,net.

Since Richard had no previous schooling—or records if he even _had _for that matter—he had to learn as much as he could up to the grade he wanted to be enrolled in. Slade decided he could start in 8th grade and work his way up. Once Richard learned what he needed to know, he would need to take a test in a building on the corner of Amsterdam and Ninth, to see if he was qualified to be in that grade. Once that happened, he could get the required merchandise, learn everything in the curriculum, and then take a test to see if he was allowed to move on. Most of the assignments and reading material would be online, but taking tests had to be in the Amsterdam building. If he passed everything and graduated middle school and high school, he could take a break for a while until he was mature enough to go to college.

That's what Slade wanted him to do anyway. Richard had thrown half his life away once already and, God be damned, he would not let it happen again. So Slade filled out all of the information that this particular site required. Then, once everything was filled out, at the bottom was an optional information text box. He filled it out, explaining who he was and, hoping, to get past the paying part, seeing as he helped fund the schools for the last eight years. There were some text books Richard needed, which cost about fifty dollars a piece. Slade was a wealthy, powerful man in Gotham, so he could be eligible for getting stuff for free.

"Alright, all done with registering." Slade closed the lid to look at Richard. "I should be getting a phone call tomorrow according to the site. So today, we'll do some shopping and then go see Bruce."

Richard sat up straight and nodded. "Okay."

Slade watched him eat his oatmeal for almost a minute before speaking again. "Would you like to talk about your nightmare?"

Richard pulled his spoon out of his mouth. "Not really," he said solemnly. He put his spoon back in his bowl to pick up oatmeal. Slade waited for him. Richard swallowed. "It isn't the first time I've had it."

"Does it occur often?"

Richard shook his head. "No, it's pretty rare. The last time I had it was a long time ago. But I don't exactly remember."

Slade gave him a warm smile. "If you ever need to talk about it, in more detail, I am here to listen. After my wife left me, I had nightmares when I slept too. I would relay every one of them to Wintergreen and he would give me advice. Then I would stop having nightmares for months at a time. I don't know what I would have done without him."

Richard swallowed some water. He was quiet for a few seconds. "If I have it again, I will talk about it."

"And I will listen," Slade said, standing. "Once you're done eating, we will go. We'll be taking a taxi. Wintergreen has the day off."

"Okay."

After breakfast and getting dressed, Slade and Robin left the apartment. He called a taxi over and it pulled up to the side of the street.

"Have a good day, Govn'r."

"We'll be back in an hour or two, Maddy," Slade said with a smile. Richard got in the taxi first, followed by Slade. He told the driver to go to the Staples Department Store. The drive was quiet all the way there. Slade paid and he and Robin stepped outside. The taxi drove away as they headed for the large doors. They went straight to the computer section where Macs and Windows were on display. "So would you like the same computer as mine, but a different color?"

Richard scratched the back of his head as he scanned the laptops. "What do you recommend?" he asked a little while later.

"Well, Windows is more prone to viruses and crashing if handled poorly," Slade explained. "Macs don't have that problem usually. In my opinion, Windows is much easier to use. I own a MacBook since it's used for my business. Though Windows might be better for you." Slade compared prices and specs of some of the computers. "I would go with an HP or Dell."

After some consideration and explanations of the features on a few laptops, Richard chose an HP G60t that had Windows 7 Home Premium operating system, 3GB of memory, a normal optical drive, and a wireless connection with it. The keys were bright silver. A computers salesman came over when Slade called for him.

"We have red, blue, and black in storage right now," he said. "They just came in yesterday."

Slade turned to Richard. "What color do you want?"

"Red, please," Richard said to the salesman.

"Alright, if you'll stand over by Register 9, I will be with you shortly."

"Thank you." Slade and Robin walked over to the register and waited. "There are free Anti-Virus programs online," Slade said. "They will keep your computer safe from dangerous viruses that are found on the internet. I will get you an external hard drive so you can save all of your stuff on your computer and that. Just in case your computer crashes and you lose everything. If he comes out before I return, tell him you want a two-year warranty."

Richard nodded. "Okay." Slade walked off and out of sight. Richard turned back to the register and waited. The salesman soon emerged with a large box in his hand. He set it on the small counter and asked if he wanted a warranty. "Two-years, please."

"Yes, sir." Richard blushed slightly. He was so used to "brat" and—rarely—"little shit", that "sir" was a foreign term to him. He knew what it meant obviously, but it just sounded weird. Slade soon returned with a box with a picture of a tall, metal hard drive with a bunch of holes on the sides on it. It was on a plastic gray stand. Slade set the box down beside the laptop. The salesman rang in the prices as he pulled out a credit card from his wallet. "Okay, Mr. Wilson, your total is $733.97. You will receive a $100 rebate in the mail for purchasing the warranty in about two weeks. Have a good day."

"Thank you," Slade said with a smile. "Let's go, Richard." Slade grabbed both boxes and headed for the doors. Robin smiled at the salesman, said thanks, and then ran after him. He called a taxi over and they got in. Next stop was Dr. Wayne's. The taxi pulled into a parking space. "I'll be out in a few minutes."

"Yes sir," the driver said.

Slade looked at Richard. "Stay here, okay?"

"Okay."

Nodding, Slade got out of the taxi and closed the door gently. Richard watched him head towards the building before leaning back and relaxing. The taxi driver didn't speak to him, but kept eying his price meter. For a long time they sat there in silence. Robin was starting to get warm, so he stepped out and stood by the taxi to wait while getting fresh air. Across the street, a black car door opened and the man from the first time Richard went to see Dr. Wayne stepped out. He walked across the street after making sure it was safe and approached the taxi. He put on a smile the closer he was to him.

"Excuse me, boy?" Richard turned around and saw the man coming. He blinked when he stopped a few feet away. "I am sorry to bother you, but I have seen you with Mr. Wilson a few times recently. Are you his son?"

Being used to strangers, Richard replied, "Um, no, I'm not. But I live with him. Do you know him?"

"Ah yes," the man said. "Mr. Wilson and I used to be old friends in college. How is he?"

Richard smiled softly. "He's doing okay. I've been an orphan since I was eight. Slade saved me one day and I've been living with him for a few weeks. He's putting me through school."

The man smiled warmly. "Yes, Mr. Wilson is very generous towards children. He's been a great edition to this city the last thirteen years." Silence suddenly followed. The man cleared his throat. "Forgive me, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Sebastian Blood."

He held his hand out. Richard hesitantly took it.

"I'm Richard."

The hand shake ended.

"Well, I must be off," Blood said. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small card. He handed it to Richard. "If you ever need to talk to someone when Slade is gone or too busy, you can call this number. Have a good day, Richard."

"Thank you," Richard said, taking it. "It was nice meeting you."

"You too," Blood said with a smile.

Turning around, he walked away as Richard looked down at the card. A devious smirk formed on Sebastian Blood's face as he headed for his car. A few minutes later and Slade came out, heading for the taxi. Richard turned around after pocketing the card.

"Needed air?"

Slade opened the door and Robin nodded.

"Yeah."

They got in the taxi. Slade told the driver he needed to make a stop at the local pharmacy. Bruce subscribed him to antibiotics for his digestive tract. It took fifteen minutes for everything to go through.

"Where to now, sir?" the taxi driver asked.

Slade looked at Richard, who had been quiet for a while.

"Richard, we have all day to go places. Would you like to go anywhere?"

Richard was silent for a few seconds longer before looking at him. "There is one place I would like to go."

* * *

Like zomg, getting suspenseful yet? Don't you just love cliff hangers? No? Oh well :D I hope you liked the home schooling idea. It will play a big role in the future of the story—won't say what. Hope you enjoyed. Again, ideas or questions you have, lay them on me. I will be more than happy to reply. Review :)

PS: Thank you Sami for the home school information. It helped out a lot. I kinda made some info up—I think—like the registering part for online, but most was information provided by my great friend. Besides, this is fiction, so there can be some changes than in real life. And there's a way to bypass the [dot] com thing if you add in a fake website. Use a comma instead of a period. You should have noticed it halfway through the chapter. If you did, kudos for you ;) If you thought I made a typo, then you fail ;) —Not really XD— Later!


	7. Chapter 7

I'd like to thank **PainEverlasting **for the nightmare idea in the last chapter :] She had reviewed Chapter 5 saying that, along with the breakdowns when Richard's parents were mentioned, he could have nightmares. She hadn't come across any in the story yet, so I said, "Oh, what the hell. Sounds like a cool idea". So that's where the nightmare came from. This also spurs into the Sladin romance again and will help make it stick. So thanks for your idea! It helped me write the last chapter

Also, what's with Brother Blood you ask? He plays a huge role, believe me. I had a foreshadow in one of the earlier chapters. Won't tell you of what or where it is because it'd ruin the story ;] You can totally make a guess, though I highly doubt you'll figure it out :3 Please enjoy!

**SladinForever**

* * *

The taxi pulled in front of the apartment skyscraper. Slade paid the driver the amount needed and then they got out, grabbing the two boxes.

"Got yourself a computer, ducky?" Maddy asked as they neared the doors.

Richard nodded. "Yeah."

"Have fun with it."

"It's for his schooling," Slade said as they headed inside. "We'll be back down in a few minutes." They entered the building, took the elevator, and returned to the apartment. Slade put the boxes on the coffee table. "We'll walk. How's that sound?"

Robin nodded. "Yeah, sure. Just let me get my hooded sweater."

After grabbing his black hoodie from the bedroom closet, Slade and Richard left, each with a water bottle in hand. They said good-bye to Maddy and then headed down the street in silence. Cars drove by in every lane, some honking. The stroll was nice and quiet between the two and, at some point, Richard looped his arm with Slade's. He rolled his eyes but couldn't help but crack a small smile. His mind had other _perverted_ thoughts, but he ignored it. He was enjoying this.

"We can stop by the park first," Slade said when they were almost to the gate that led into it. "I'll need my arm back first though."

Richard smiled, releasing it. They reached the gate door. Slade grabbed the latch and lifted it, pushing the door open. The two walked in, leaving it open. Small children were playing on the Big Top, playing tag. A mother was pushing her toddler in the tiny swing. There was even a sandbox, where a boy and his parents were building a wonky sand castle. Richard tore his gaze away, scratching the back of his head. Reaching a curved L-shaped bench, he and Slade sat down to rest their feet and legs. Richard leaned back, sticking his arms in the stomach pocket of his sweater.

"I used to come here all the time when I had nothing else to do," Richard said a few minutes later. He looked at the Big Top near the top. A half orb made of heavy plastic was sticking out at the top of the equipment, which was empty. Richard stared at it. "I used to sit up there all the time." Slade stared at him for a few seconds before turning his gaze to match with his. "Kids used to run past me all the time. One day a mother yelled at her child to get away from me." His brow furrowed. "I never understood why she did it when I just sat there. It wasn't like I tried to hurt them or even did anything to anyone. Even now I don't really understand."

Richard lowered his gaze, sighing. Slade looked at him.

"Some people are just too quick to judge, that's all. If someone is dressed strangely, some people don't trust that person, even though they could be the nicest person in the world. Even having a different skin color is judged before knowing the person. There's a word for that. Do you know what it is?"

Richard shook his head. "No."

"It's racism," Slade said. "Another form of the word is sexism, which is for genders. The word that fits you is called prejudice. That mother was prejudice towards you because of the way you looked. It is painful to hear, but it happens."

Richard couldn't help but agree. He was good at pretending he didn't care about certain things, but Slade could see right through him. Did that mean something?

"When you first saw me, what did you think at the time?"

Slade looked at Richard, blinking. "What do you mean?"

Richard shrugged. "Well, I remember you staring at me for a few seconds before letting me into your limo. What were you thinking of?"

"I'm not sure," Slade said. He looked up, seeing a building through the thicket of park trees. "Maybe it was like looking at a brand new skyscraper or store. You look at it to decide if you want it to be there or if you want to go inside. Maybe I was contemplating whether or not to let you come with me or if I should just leave you. So I chose the former."

Richard glanced at Slade out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah, but why?"

Slade breathed out of his nose. "I guess you could say it was my conscience."

Robin gave him a confused look. "Your conscience?"

Slade looked at him. "It's kind of like a tiny voice in your head that helps you decide what is wrong and what is right. It told me to take you home."

Robin smirked softly. "Is it a perverted conscience?" he whispered playfully.

_Yes, yes I am._

"No, it isn't," Slade replied with a smile. "What I did was possibly a mistake. Though I haven't thought about it much. Now that I think of it, maybe you reminded me of someone from my past and I needed you, just as you need me. You could have just run away, but you got in the car." He paused, looking straight ahead. "Maybe it was fate."

"I guess I was pretty lucky," Richard said, smiling.

Slade ran his hand through his hair, smiling. "We both were."

Richard couldn't agree more. They sat there for a few more minutes, listening to the birds and children, before getting up and continuing on their walk. Not much time passed before they reached a busy street that they had to cross. Two cop cars came flying through with their lights flashing and sirens blaring. An ambulance came soon after, the sirens hurting Richard's ears. He had to hit the side of his head to make the ringing stop as they got to cross the street. On the way to their destination, Slade stopped by a hot dog cart and ordered two regular hot dogs and a cup of coffee for himself.

"I want ketchup and relish on mine," Richard said. "Please."

The cart owner squirted a zigzag pattern on his perfectly-cooked wiener quickly and then added two spoonfuls of relish, spreading it around. He placed the spoon in a jar of hot water before making Slade's hot dog. After getting his order, they started to eat on the way. Richard took a big bite of his, ketchup and relish squishing out and covering his mouth.

"I should've asked for napkins," Slade said with a chuckle. Robin licked his lips before taking another bite. Once their hot dogs had been consumed, they stopped at a small store to wash their hands and faces. "When was the last time you saw them?"

"Probably the funeral," Richard said, pulling down a paper towel from the dispenser. "Been a long time."

Slade stepped to the other towel dispenser and grabbed one, drying his hands. They threw their towels away at the same time and then left, walking down the sidewalk. Ten minutes later and they made it to an open black gate. Inside on the right was an old man with a cart full of different kinds of beautiful flowers. He was tending to some of them, cutting stems that were too long. Reaching into his coat pocket, Slade pulled out his wallet and asked for four gold-colored Chrysanthemums.

"That will be ten dollars," the man said, handing four Chrysanthemums to him.

Slade handed him a ten and then handed the flowers to Richard. He took them and they headed into the cemetery.

"You didn't have to do that," he said as they walked side-by-side down a small slope.

"It's the least I can do," Slade said with a small smile. "I am taking care of their son after all."

Richard beamed and looped his arm with Slade's. A few minutes later and they reached a tree filled with small, purple flowers that were falling in the light breeze. Underneath the shade of the tree sat a wide, speckle-cemented gravestone with the name GRAYSON carved into it. Letting go of his arm, Richard crouched in front of it, placing the flowers down. Underneath the name was John and Mary, along with the dates when they were born and when they passed away. Underneath that was a small saying: Beloved Mother, Father, and Parents. Slade stared down at Richard, who stared sadly at the gravestone. Out of nowhere, the breeze picked up and became a strong gust of wind. The branches of the tree began to shake and lose their petals. They flew through the air, covering graves and the grass. Several flew in front of the two. Richard's hair danced in the wind. He smiled weakly.

"I'm sorry if I made you upset or have stopped you from being proud of me," he said softly. "I didn't know what to do for a long time and I'm sorry if my decision for the last few years has angered you. But you always said that you have to do what you have to do in order to survive and I have." He paused, tears forming in his eyes. "Mom, dad, I will always love you. I hope you still love me." He smiled, his tears tracking down his cheeks and dripping off his chin. "It's about time I made you proud of me again."

Kissing his fingers of his right hand, Richard placed them on the tombstone and held them there for a few seconds. Afterward, he placed his hands on his knees, pushing himself up to stand straight. Slade placed his hand on the back of his neck and squeezed it lightly.

"Let's go home and make them proud." Turning to him, Richard hugged him tight, burying his wet face in his chest. Smiling softly, Slade squeezed him firmly, patting his back gently. "That's a good boy."

Richard couldn't help but smile, hugging him a little tighter. He swore on his parent's graves that he would do his best and survive. All he had to do was keep hoping, _praying_, that he would make it through. He needed to do his best, for them. All it took was time and effort. And, for Richard, he had all the time in the world.


	8. Chapter 8

Richard sat in front of the TV, watching cartoons, while Slade spoke on speaker phone in the kitchen. He was currently talking to a lovely, middle-aged woman about the information he had sent for Richard's education.

_"__The building on Amsterdam and Ninth is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from seven to one in the afternoon. All final tests will be taken there. Richard will do his homework online. He will have a schedule of assignments for Monday through Thursday and they must be finished by Friday. On Saturday they will be processed and graded. If he is a fast learner, he can do more than one week of assignments. The schedule is set for the full month. At the end of each month, he will have to take a final on everything he has learned. If he fails, he will have to take another, different answer test the next day. Any questions on test taking?"_

"Yes, approximately how long are the tests?" Slade asked, finishing writing the information down.

_"__They are about fifty to one hundred questions, depending how well he does his homework. The better he does on assignments, the more questions."_

"And what is the best time to take them?"

_"__Early in the morning is best. I know you're a very busy man, Mr. Wilson.__ Now, in regards to paying for books and such, we can give you a discount, though you may find better material in the library or online. Whichever Richard is most comfortable with, either one is fine. Any more questions?"_

Slade looked over his shoulder at Richard, who was eating a bowl of cereal. He turned back to the phone.

"No, that is all."

_"__Alright, since the first of the month is only a few days away, Richard will start immediately. But first he needs to take a standardized test that determines which grade he will start in. It is online and will take a day or two to be graded. Richard should take it tomorrow. The test is on our homepage. Once you click the link, it will take you to a screen with grades K-12. Pick the grade he will start in and a multiple choice test will appear with a total of two hundred questions. At the end there will be three essay questions. Richard will pick one to answer. It shouldn't take him too long."_

"Okay, thank you," Slade said, picking up his cell phone.

_"__You're welcome, Mr. Wilson. I wish Richard good luck. Good-bye."_

The woman hung up. Slade snapped the lid to his cell phone shut, set it down, and then stretched. He had been talking for almost an hour. Richard entered the kitchen, going to the sink to wash out his bowl. Lowering his arms on the arm rests, Slade looked at him.

"Tomorrow, you need to take an online test for the grade you're starting in. It's two hundred questions with multiple choices and you need to answer one essay question at the end."

Richard put the bowl on the counter, turned off the water, and turned around. He walked over to the table, standing beside Slade's chair.

"Should I study a bit or something?"

"If you want."

Richard smiled. "I'll just read then. And thanks again."

"You've thanked me enough," Slade said with a tiny smirk.

"It makes me happy when I say it," Robin said, his eyes closed behind a smile.

Turning, Richard went to the bedroom to grab his book. Slade stood up, stretched, and went to the fridge. Robin sat on the couch and opened to his bookmarked place. Slade went into his room to use the bathroom. The apartment grew quiet. After a while, Robin laid down, holding his book above his face. Slade soon came back, going to his laptop and opening a scheduler. He browsed the month that appeared, checking his dates. He was free until the end of the month. This gave him enough time to spend with Richard and help him with school.

"I'm going to workout in the gym a few blocks down from here," Slade said after shutting down his computer. He walked into the living room, standing a few feet from Richard. "Want to come?"

Richard glanced at him. "No, I think I'll stay here. How long will you be gone?"

"An hour or two."

"Okay, see you later."

Nodding, Slade went back into his room and went to his closet. He opened it and reached into the back, where a small duffel bag sat in the corner. He picked it up, closed the door, and then left, heading for the front door.

"Be good."

Robin smiled at him. "I will."

Slade left, gently closing the door behind him and locking it with his key. Listening closely for a minute, Robin waited to see if Slade came back because he forgot something. When the door remained closed, he bookmarked his place, set the book on the table, and then went into the bathroom, checking Slade's medicine cabinet above the sink. He examined every bottle, intent on finding what he wanted. Seeing an interesting one, Robin pulled it out and read the label. A relieved smile formed on his face.

Going to the shower, Robin turned the water on to a hot temperature and turned the shower head on. After undressing, he got in and closed the door, turning the spray on as high as it could go. Without getting the bottle wet, he unscrewed the cap and set it aside. Robin dunked his pointer finger inside and pulled it out. A glob of lotion covered it. He then got his middle and ring finger covered before setting the bottle down. Getting on his knees, Robin spread his legs and moved his lotion-covered fingers behind him. With his other hand, he pulled one of his cheeks apart. Swallowing, he moved his pointer finger towards his puckered hole and pressed the tip to it.

Opening his mouth as his heart pounded in his chest, Robin pushed the finger in, gasping very softly. When it was in past the second knuckle, he moved his middle finger towards the hole and pushed it in to join the first. Richard pushed them in as far as they could go and then spread them apart. He started to breathe heavily as he moved them around a bit. As his skin stretched, he was able to stick the third finger in. Richard placed his free hand back on the floor and tried to crawl around. It took almost half a minute to be the opposite direction and then crawl backwards. Once the water was covering most of his body, Robin slowly lowered his head until it rested against the floor, his butt sticking into the air. When he was ready, he took a deep breath and started to pull his fingers back out.

For the next few minutes, Robin moved his fingers in and out of his rectum, hitting his prostate every so often with each fast push. He was panting and moaning as he fingered himself. His penis started to harden and become erect. Needing a more comfortable position, Robin managed to sit and pull his leg out from under his arm. He continued to push and pull while his free hand grabbed his erection and started pumping it. His body was hot and bothered from the hot water and his panting. Robin closed his eyes, picturing himself being fucked by a man. It had been a while since he had sex last and, for the last two days, he had the urge for it. Robin was glad Slade decided to leave for a while.

Cum was coming out of the tip of Robin's penis as his pace quickened. His panting grew louder and hotter, making his body flush red. Tilting his head back, he moaned, feeling the wondrous high he was so used to having. He even started breathing out dirty sentences in between his panting.

"Ah, ah, uhn, hah, mmm, y-yes…oh god yes. F-Fuck me…h-harder…" Cum was bursting from Robin's penis now, splattering the floor in between his legs. The tips of his fingers kept hitting his prostate. "Ahn, ah, m-more…please more!" Robin was almost close to completely bursting. With a final stroke, he came. "AH SLADE!"

Robin's chest and stomach was hit by cum as it came out. His hands stopped and he fell over, trying to regain his breath. He mentally cursed himself for crying out Slade's name upon his release. Slowly pulling his fingers out, he placed his hand on the floor and sat up. Robin sat there for a few minutes until his breath returned. When it did, he took a deep breath and then slowly rose, feeling the water stream down his back. Turning around, he washed his hands and then his hair and body.

Robin walked out of the bathroom five minutes later, a towel wrapped around his waist. Going to the dresser, he grabbed clean boxers, pants, and a shirt and got dressed. He vigorously dried his hair with his towel. When he was done, he combed his hair, cleaned his ears, and then went back out into the living room. After grabbing a bottle of water, he returned to the couch and continued reading, pretending that that half an hour never happened.

* * *

The next afternoon, Richard took his online test for eighth grade, feeling confident in himself. Slade gave him his privacy while he sat in his room, paying bills and looking over his mail and work reports. The paper work had piled up so high that he decided it was the best time to sort through it all. After Robin's test was submitted, he used the bathroom. He came out a few minutes later and walked to the bed. He stared down at one of the piles Slade had made, looking at the top one. It was all confusing, legal stuff that he didn't think he'd ever understand.

"You can help me sort items into piles," Slade said. "I have a bunch of junk to throw away." Nodding, Robin sat at the foot of the bed. Slade tossed a thick pile to him. "Put anything that dates back to 2006, any old coupons or ads, and anything else you might think needs to be recycled in one pile. If you're not sure, just set them aside in a different pile."

Robin picked up part of the stack. For the next few minutes he looked at dates on pieces of folded papers and placed them to the left in his own pile. There were some coupons for Papa Murphys, Subway, and Safeway. The only sound around them was the crinkling and flipping of paper. There were a few old bills that had been paid off months back and were unimportant. Soon everything was in piles and Slade was able to throw away and recycle a lot of stuff.

"Why do you wait so long to throw old junk away?" Robin asked while he stood and stretched.

Slade was stuffing the trash piles into a plastic Walmart bag. "I just don't have the patient nor the time to deal with it."

"Oh." Robin shifted his weight as he watched Slade. "What are we doing for dinner?"

Slade tied the strings of the bag together once it was full. He turned to Robin as he headed for the door.

"You just had lunch."

Robin turned and followed him. "I was just wondering if you had anything planned tonight." They entered the kitchen. "If you didn't yet, I wanted to choose."

Slade threw the bag of junk into the blue recycling bin under the sink. After closing the door, he went to the fridge.

"Alright, what did you have in mind?"

Robin sat down. "Well I was looking at those coupons and Subway sounded good to me."

Slade closed the door after pulling out a bottle of water. He sat down in front of his laptop and lifted the lid while he took a drink. Robin opened Solitaire and started to play.

"We can get sub sandwiches."

Robin smiled. "Okay."

For the next half hour, Slade looked over the next month's schedule and making changes accordingly, while Robin played his Solitaire. He wanted to distract himself since he kept thinking back to yesterday. He didn't know how Slade would react if he told him what he had done. For the rest of the day he was a little fidgety. While in line for their subs, Robin accidentally bumped into Slade when he was distracted with the menu. The man just patted him on the head and told the sandwich maker what he wanted on his. They ate in the eating area, sitting at a small table that fit just two people.

"You alright?"

Robin looked up, his sandwich halfway in his wide open mouth. He pulled it out and cleared his throat before speaking.

"Oh, yeah, just a little anxious."

"Because?" Slade asked.

Robin took a sip of his lemonade. "I want to know what I got on my test."

"I see." Giving him a small smile, Robin lowered his gaze and took another bite of his sub. Slade stared at him for a few seconds. "You'll do just fine."

Robin didn't reply. He knew he would pass. The test hadn't been hard. And the essays were child's play. Robin just picked the easiest one to get it over with. He didn't want to lie to Slade, but he didn't want to tell him the truth either. Unfortunately, his guilt of not telling him increased ten-fold during the rest of the night. Robin tried to read while Slade watched the boring news, but he kept glancing at him every so often. Once he couldn't hold it in, he bookmarked his place, set the book down, and quickly snatched the remote from Slade. He turned the TV off, making him blink in surprise.

"Uuuuh…"

Slade looked at him. "I was watching that."

Robin's cheeks turned a bit red from embarrassment. "I want to ask you a, uh…what's it called? Where you ask a question that is directed to a fake thing?"

Slade had to think for a moment. "Oh, you mean a hypothetical question."

"Yeah, that."

"Yes, you can ask me a hypothetical question," Slade said, curious to know why this was so important right now.

Robin inhaled deeply before speaking while looking at the floor. "Okay, so, let's say a guy, erm, had the urge to…_suppress_ sexual feelings with no one around and he wanted to, well-" Robin cleared his throat loudly. "-fantasize about someone while doing it, and he felt guilty not telling this person, would the person he wanted to tell freak out on him or do you think this particular person wouldn't care?"

An unsettling silence fell between them. Slade blinked twice quickly, trying to make sense of this. Robin wouldn't look at him, but he could see the slight reddish hue to his cheeks.

"Give me a better example."

Robin looked sheepishly up at Slade, chuckling nervously. "Haha, uh, well, say _I_ had a sexual urge and I fantasized about, well…"

Robin trailed off, muttering the rest of his sentence quickly, which Slade didn't catch.

"I didn't hear that last bit."

Robin whimpered and scratched his head with his hands, hating himself for being unable to tell Slade all of this when he never would have cared before he met him. So, being pressured like this, he blurt out what he wanted to say, throwing his hands up into the air.

"I was in the shower yesterday, fingering myself and masturbating, while fantasizing about you! Okay! There! I said it! Don't hate me!"

Slade sweat dropped when Robin fell over sideways, trying to hide within his arms with his eyes shut tight. The air suddenly felt very stale as silence filled the living room. Neither moved for a long time. Only one thing seemed to be functioning properly.

_Wow, this kid's mind is more perverted than me!_

Slade hit the side of his head, which Robin didn't notice. He cleared his throat. "Hm, well, this is very intriguing information," he said, rubbing the right side of his head. "I find it funny that you always think I'm going to hate you for things like this." Robin slowly uncurled himself, looking at Slade over his shoulder. He lowered his hand. "Now, all teenagers have raging hormones and, in your case, not having sex for a while can cause you to relapse and want it again. You have trouble taking control of your body when you have the urge to masturbate, so you gave in while I was gone and did it in the shower. So I do not blame you for fantasizing about me while you did it, just as long as I never hear about it in detail. We will never speak of this again." Robin slowly nodded. Sighing softly, Slade stood up and headed for the kitchen. "It isn't like you yelled my name after you came or anything."

Robin choked on his breath. He cleared his throat before speaking. "Oh, yeah, of course. Didn't happen."

Grabbing his book, Robin opened it to his place and buried his face in it. Slade washed the small dab of dishes before going to bed.

"Good night."

"Yeah, night."

Slade walked into his room, grabbed Robin's pillow and a blanket, and came out with them for him. He fluffed up the pillow for him before going back to his room, using the bathroom, and then getting ready for bed. Robin read the rest of his book before setting it down, turning off the lights, and getting comfortable on the couch. Once he was situated and covered up to his chin by the blanket, he closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**Finally got this fucker done! I'm so sorry it took so long to update this ;w; The other day I got the motivation to actually keep going. Again, I'm so sorry it took so long to update :( I feel extremely bad about it. But hey, I'm not gonna give up! You'll still get to read teh lovely story even if it kills me to finish it! Alright, enjoy**

**SladinForever**

* * *

After two days of not doing much, Slade received an e-mail from samischooling,net on Robin's test grade. He had aced it, one hundred percent. Needless to say, Slade was impressed. Robin was also stunned when he told him the results. Starting the following month, he would be in the eighth grade. This brought a huge smile to his face.

"I didn't think I'd be this excited about school," he said. Slade barked out a laugh. "Why is that funny?"

Slade looked at him with a smile. "Most kids _hate_ going to school. Though, perhaps your situation is different, since you don't have to sit in a classroom five days a week."

"I guess so," Robin said, taking a bite of apple. He chewed and swallowed. "I get my assignments tomorrow, right?"

"Correct."

Robin ate more of his apple, thinking. "What will I be doing _exactly_?"

Slade thought back to the phone conversation he had with the adviser of the school. "Each week for a month you get your homework assignments. You can do more than one week if you want to. Once you finish all the assignments for the month, you take a monthly test in a building on Amsterdam. Depending on how well you do on your homework, the more test questions you get. They won't be more than one hundred questions. Then you repeat until you pass high school level."

That made sense to Robin. "Do you know how long it'll take me to finish high school?"

Slade shrugged while checking the rest of his online stuff. "I'm not sure if you get assignments for a whole school year or not. Here in Gotham, school starts in the middle of August and ends at the end of May. Since you're starting in October, you will go to school for eight months. If the online school lasts a full year for one grade, then you'll be done early May, depending if you get assignments done ahead of schedule. Then, starting next fall, you will start high school and that lasts four years. Tomorrow, you'll go onto the site and see what your monthly assignments are."

Robin thought that over for a few minutes, to make sure he could ask his next question. "So if the grade I'm in lasts half a year, I'll be done by the time I'm eighteen, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Well then what?"

Slade glanced at him over the top of his laptop. "Well then what, what?"

"What happens after I pass high school?" Robin asked.

Slade stared intently at him for a few seconds before closing his laptop and looking right at him. "Then you start living your next half of life."

"Which is?"

"You get out of the house, find a job, go to college if you want, and start living on your own, starting your own family and so on. You're two years away from an adult life. Once you're ready to leave this place, you'll find your own and then we'll probably never see each other again."

Robin looked surprised at hearing this. "What?"

"Unless you wish to stay in contact with me, then by all means…"

Robin jumped to his feet from his chair. "Wh-Wait a second! You're just gonna kick me out like none of this ever happened?"

It was Slade's turn to look confused. "I won't be "kicking you out", so to speak, but you and I will have to part ways eventually. Or were you planning on becoming a basement dweller living with his mom until he's forty?"

"I-! A what?"

Slade shook his head. "Never mind. My point is, at some point, you will have to leave this apartment and buy a house or rent an apartment on your own. You don't see my parents living here, do you?" Robin shook his head. "This will be no different. Once you're much older, I'll either be retired or dead. That's life."

Robin thought this was all very odd. He would soon be all alone, like Slade? What kind of life was that?

"Leaving you sounds hard."

Slade shrugged. "Once you're older, you might not find it so difficult. I'm not going to mommy you forever." The apartment became silent for a while. Slade lifted his laptop lid back up and went back to work. "I have a few important things to do, so you can go outside or do something that doesn't bother me. The faster I get this done, the faster we can do something fun."

Robin stared at Slade for a little while longer before silently moving to the bedroom. He browsed his small book collection in the closet to read one, but he didn't have any new ones. Maybe going outside for some fresh air would do him some good.

"I'm going out."

Robin crossed to the front door. He left and headed down the hall to the elevator. Getting on, he clicked the Lobby button and descended. Once he stepped out when it reached the bottom, he silently walked through the foyer and out the door. Maddy was standing at the corner of the apartment building to greet anyone who came in.

"Afternoon, Robin."

Robin smiled at him as he passed. "Hi. Going to the park for a while."

"Be careful."

Turning his head around, Robin stepped to the curb, looked both ways, and started to cross at a brisk walk. Once to the other side, he made his way for the park. It was a nice day and the breeze was perfect. It wasn't too hot but not too cold either. It just seemed like the perfect day. Robin hardly had many of them, so it was nice when he did.

It took ten minutes to reach the park. Going to the rows of benches, Robin took the empty middle one and stuck his hands in his jean pockets. He crossed his legs underneath the bench and leaned back in a relaxed position. Several young children were playing tag on the blacktop. Two or three escaped the tagger by using the metal slide. Robin quickly looked away. So much for a perfect day.

Robin could remember one time in some other city in another state where he was in a park like this. He would sit alone in the yellow painted tunnel, just passing the time until his next job. One late afternoon, a small boy had rushed onto the blacktop and wanted to go in the tunnel. He stopped when he saw Robin. Being a young, gullible kid, the boy asked him if he would like to play tag or marbles. At the time, Robin was shocked that someone actually invited him to do something. He was actually very happy since he never had a friend since his parents' deaths. When Robin started to get out, the little boy's mother came rushing over and yanked him away. Robin had stopped short, especially when she glared at him.

_"Stay away from my son, you filthy, disgusting boy," _she had said before briskly walking away. Robin even heard what she said to her son. _"Don't you ever go near boys that look like they live in dumpsters, Henry!"_

Needless to say, Robin avoided kids his age, especially when their mothers were around, after that. The woman's words had hurt. It wasn't his fault he was an orphan living on the street and, until just a few weeks ago, didn't know the reason why that mother had been so horrible. Thinking back on all of those things as a child, Robin felt pain in his heart. Ever since living with Slade, he learned how unfair and cruel the outside world was. Before, it never even crossed his mind.

Robin suddenly came out of his thoughts when a jogger jogged by him on the walkway. He saw the kids playing again. This time, a little girl in blonde pigtails was the tagger. She tried to poke one boy's arm, but tripped and fell.

"Well, that certainly was a nasty fall," a voice said behind Robin as the girl started to cry, her knees scratched and bleeding. Looking over his shoulder, Robin saw Sebastian Blood standing behind him. He smiled at him. "Fancy meeting you here. May I sit?"

"Oh, yeah, sure."

Walking around the bench, Blood sat down beside him, folded his arms over his chest, and stared at the children. The little girl's father had come to help her to a bench so that he could look at her injuries.

"Children should learn to be more careful," Blood said softly to himself before looking at Robin. "So, did you come alone or is Slade here?"

Robin shook his head. "Nope, just me. Slade had business to deal with."

Blood chortled. "Yes, he's a very busy man. I am surprised he manages to find the time to spend with you."

"Yeah…

"…You _do_ spend time with him, don't you?"

Robin blinked in confusion. Hadn't he already said Slade spent time with him? "Yeah, we've done lots of stuff. We watch TV at night, we eat together during breakfast and dinner, and he said he would find time to help me with school."

"Well, that is good to hear," Blood said. "When do you start?"

"Tomorrow."

Sebastian patted him gently on the back. "Good boy! All children your age deserve a good education." Blood squeezed his neck briefly before lowering his arm. "Home schooling?" Robin nodded. "So you will be staying at home a lot?"

"I guess so."

"Hm, well, as long as you have some fun…"

Robin smiled. "Yeah, I may come to the park every great once in a while. I also spend a lot of time reading."

"Ah yes, one of my favorite past times as a child," Blood said fondly. "I read all sorts of books. My parents never did spend time with me, so I was left with silence and books. I was very lonely, with only the spines and words as my company. But, alas, that's what happens when your parents are rich and spoiled and decide to have a child just because their other rich friends were having them."

Robin stared at Blood in disbelief. His parents really thought that way? How horrible. "That's terrible," he said.

Blood smiled weakly. "Yes, it is. But, their greed and spoils were the death of them. They got mixed in with some bad people and were killed at a party. I inherited nothing but a few boxes of old clothes and broken junk." Robin was dumbstruck. Noticing this, Blood smiled. "Oh, but don't worry, Robin, I have been very happy the last thirty-seven years. I paid my way through college, became a business man, and have been fairly successful ever since, with my good luck and fortune. I will not let it get to my head like it did with my parents."

It took a few seconds for Robin to smile. "Well, I'm glad things have worked out."

"Hmm, yes, indeed." Looking away, Robin saw a dog walker with three dogs on leashes not too far away. Some of the kids had left while they conversed, including the girl with the skinned knees. After a long silence, Blood looked at his watch. "Well, it is getting late for me." Standing up, he patted Robin's shoulder as he looked at him. "It was nice seeing you again. And, if I may, perhaps you can convince Slade to get you a cell phone. Then, if you find yourself with nothing to do and Slade is too busy, you can call or text me. Would you like that?"

Blood gently squeezed his shoulder. Robin nodded. "Yeah."

Blood grinned. "Excellent! When you do get one, let me know right away, so that I may save your number."

"Okay, I will."

Letting go of his shoulder, Blood turned and started to walk away. "Have a good evening and good luck with school tomorrow."

"Thanks. I will."

Robin watched Blood walk away before looking back at the playground. Kids were running on the blacktop and using the monkey bars. Robin inhaled deeply and then let it out in a sigh. If he was younger, he'd be able to play without looking like a filthy rug. After another ten minutes of sitting there, Robin got up, turned left, and walked towards the gate exit. He headed back for the apartment, stopping at an ice cream truck for two creamsicle push-pops on the way. It didn't take him long to reach the glass doors. Maddy greeted him at the door and then opened it for him. Robin thanked him before entering, going to an elevator, and getting on. After pushing the button for Slade's floor, he took the top cover off his push-pop and pushed it up. The orange with swirled white ice cream came out and he started licking it.

Robin got off the elevator a little while later and walked to Slade's door. He knocked and waited for him to open the door for him. There was no answer for a long time. Frowning, Robin knocked again, louder this time. When the door remained closed, he sighed, turned, and sat down against the wall to wait. Not only could he use a cell phone, but a damn key as well. When half of his ice cream was gone, he got up and tried again. He waited another few minutes before the door opened and Slade looked out. Robin glared at him, making him blink in confusion.

"What?"

"I've been locked out for ten minutes. Your ice cream is melting!"

Looking down at his hands, Slade saw the unopened push-pop in one. Scowling, Robin moved past him to get inside. Slade closed the door and turned to him as he moved toward the fridge.

"I'm sorry for making you wait." Robin closed the freezer door. "I was in the bathroom for a while due to stomach problems." Robin sat at the table to finish his push-pop. "I will get an extra key for you."

Robin looked up at him, his expression softer. "That would be helpful." Nodding, Slade went to his room, grabbed his planner and a few file folders in his filing cabinet, and returned to the kitchen. He sat down across from Robin to look over some things. Robin watched him as he finished up his ice cream. "Hey, I was thinking, maybe I could get a cell phone."

Slade scribbled in some notes in his planner. "Give me a good reason for getting you one and I'll consider it."

"Well, what if I'm in an emergency and I need to get a hold of you? Or I need to ask you a homework question and you're not here? And wouldn't you want to be able to get a hold of me if something came up?"

Finally looking up, Slade nodded. "Those are good reasons. I will buy you one."

"I want to buy it with my money," Robin said before taking the last bite of push-pop.

Slade blinked. He had almost forgotten Robin had a hidden stash somewhere in Gotham. Looking back at his planner, he said, "After you finish your schoolwork tomorrow, Wintergreen will drive us to pick it up."

Robin smiled. "Cool."

When he was done writing, Slade set the planner aside and then looked through his folders. Robin got up, washed his hands after throwing his ice cream stick away, and then went into the living room to watch television.

* * *

Again, finally got this damn chapter done :D Tis a bit short though, sorry. BUT, next chapter, Slade and Robin get his stash, Slade takes him to open a bank account to put his money into a college savings fund, and then they buy him a cell phone. So they'll get to spend one last time together before Slade becomes uber busy again. And is Sebastian Blood up to something? Maaaaaaybe ;) He's very keen on Robin, isn't he? Any ideas on what he's trying to do? I'd love to hear any guesses! Alright, take care! Until next time my lovely derps!

**SladinForever**


	10. AUTHOR NOTE, PLEASE READ!

So I REALLY hate to do this, but I decided to DISCONTINUE this fic. I just lost pretty much my entire interest in it. Sorry guys :( BUT, I still have some stuff I had written in advance when I thought of scenes that I will be posting to my Tumblr this week, so you can see what some of my ideas had been for it. You can find the link to my Sladin Story WIPs Page here (replace commas with periods): sladinforever,tumblr,com/Sladin%20Story%20WIPs Speaking of which, that page is dedicated to WIPs and snippets/chapters of fan fics I wanted to write, but lost interest in. So if you'd like to read those, just open them in new tabs. Everything is in order and labeled for your convenience :)

Again, very sorry about this guys D: I just don't want to write the fic anymore :( I'll try to get the WIPs posted on my Tumblr tomorrow and Monday


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